Captured Trust
by Chiori
Summary: When the banished prince asks to join the Gaang, a series of unfortunate events leads to him becoming their prisoner. How can Zuko gain their trust and help the group, even as the comet approaches? Takes place during and after'The Western Air Temple'
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Well, this is just a fanfiction I thought of after I watched Season 3.**

**This fanfic takes place during "The Western Air Temple" after Zuko's first visit to the 'Gang'.**

**Disclaimers: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender! (Duh)**

**Captured Trust**

"_Why would he try to fool us like that!"_ Katara yelled as Sokka, Aang, and Toph set up their camp.

"Obviously he wants to lead us into some kind of trap" Sokka answered, taking a step toward his sister.

"This is just like when we were in prison together in Ba Sing Se!" the waterbender cried angrily, "he starts talking about his mother and making it seem like he was an actual human being with feelings!"

"He was you to trust him and feel sorry for him, so you let your guard down, and he strikes," the watertribe warrior said flatly while picking up a sleeping bag.

"The thing is, it worked" Katara said in a hushed voice. "I did feel sorry for him, I felt like he was really confused and hurt!"

Katara took a deep breath and sat down on her knees before continuing. Sokka noticed a slight note of compassion on the waterbender's face, but it disappeared with her next words.

"But obviously when the time came, he made his choice, and we paid the price."

"We can't trust him!" she added, raising her voice so that Aang and Toph could hear her.

Aang slowly walked up to the area where Katara and Sokka stood, and turned his head so that the siblings couldn't see his face.

"Actually….I have a confession to make." the airbender said.

Aang slowly told the pair about the incident with Zhao and the Yu Yan Archers. When he got to the part about the Blue Spirit and the identity behind the mask, Katara and Sokka wore shocked expressions at the mention of the firebender. Toph stood silently against a pillar, absorbing the new information.

"_NO way_," Katara exclaimed, crossing her arms in a X-shape to further her point.

"I'm sure he only did it so that he could capture you himself"

"Yeah, face it Aang," Sokka added, "You're nothing but a big prize to him"

The Avatar lowered his him in disappointment.

"You're probably right," he said with a sigh.

Katara, clearly was not satisfied yet.

"_And what was all that stuff about setting Appa free_?" the waterbender yelled. "What a _liar_!"

"Actually, he wasn't lying," Toph said quietly.

The threesmome turned at the sudden presence of the earthbender, clearly not believing what they had just heard.

"Oh, _hooray_," Sokka said," In a lifetime of evil, at least he didn't add animal cruelty to the list."

"I'm just saying, that considering his messed up family, and how he was raised, he could have turned up a lot worse!" Toph said, clearly irritated.

"You're right Toph, let's go find him and give him a _medal_." Katara said sarcastically, "The Not-As-Much-Of-A-Jerk-As-You-Could-Have-Been Award!"

"All I know is that while he was talking to us, he was sincere. Maybe you're just letting your hurt feelings keeping you from thinking clearly." Toph said.

"Easy for you to say!" Katara cried.

"You weren't there when he had us attacked from pirates!"

"Or when he burned up Kyoshi Island!" Sokka added.

"Or when he tried to capture me at the Fire Temple!" Aang shouted.

"Why would you even _try_ to defend him!" the waterbender hollered.

"Because, _Katara_," the Blind Bandit said, taking a few steps toward her.

"You're all ignoring one crucial point!"

Toph emphasized her point by stomping her foot into the ground, causing cracks to appear in the gound.

"Aang needs a firebender to teach him!" she cried, jabbing her finger in the Avatar's chest.

"We can't think of a single person to teach him. Now, one shows up on a silver platter, and you don't even think about it?"

Katara looked over to Aang, who had started to talk.

"I'm not having Zuko as my teacher," he answered plainly.

"You're darn right you're not!" Sokka replied, taking his side.

"Well…I guess that's settled," Katara said, although feeling bad about what the earthbender had stated.

"I sometimes wonder who's really the blind one here is," Toph said before storming off.

Katara kept her face an emotionless mask as her friend left the building, but under the mask, the waterbender didn't want her friend to go. She sighed as she returned to her work, setting up the temporary camp with Sokka and Aang.

* * *

"STUPID!" "Why was I so STUPID!" Zuko yelled into the air.

"Why did I tell them that I sent an ASSASIN after them! I should have told them _Azula_ did it! They would have believed me!

"STUPID!" the firebender added, spreading his arms out in front of his face.

The frog merely croaked at the angry boy before hopping away. Irritated, Zuko flopped down on his back, silently cursing.

"Why am I so bad at being _GOOD_!"

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That night, Katara lay awake, staring into the clouds that obscured the stars. Toph was huddled under an earth tent in a corner of the building, sleeping away from the Gang, obviously still furious at them.

Silently, she thought about the young earthbender's protests that afternoon. Katara knew Toph was right, but she didn't _want _to give Zuko another chance.

Thinking about the said firebender caused Katara to unconsciously clench her fists at her side. No way was she going to give that idiot another chance!

_Maybe I should_, another part of her said. _For Toph._

Silently, Katara made her way out of her sleeping bag, trying not to wake anyone else up, especially Toph. The blind girl would surely sense her movements and wake up. The waterbender stepped over a sleeping Sokka, flinching at the sound of his noisy snores. Looking back around her, Katara glanced in the earth tent's direction and let out a sigh before heading into the forest. Oblivious to the walking girl, Toph smiled before letting sleep overcome her again.

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The banished prince lay under his makeshift tent, letting the day's events run through his mind. How would he ever gain the trust of the Avatar's group? Especially that watertribe girl. Surely, she hated him for what he had done in Ba Sing Se. Zuko let out a frustrated sigh, this was going to be a long night, he said to himself.

Suddenly, a rustling of leaves alerted the firebender to his senses. Without thinking, he shot a fire blast in the sound's direction, guessing the intruder was an enemy. No sooner had the flame left his palm had he realized his mistake.

A sharp cry of pain echoed out from the 'intruder's' hiding spot. The cry was too high for a man, almost _girly_. A pair of angry blue eyes and tanned skin emerged from the forest clearing. Zuko knew those eyes from anywhere.

"K-Katara?..I-I'm so sorry!"

**A/N: So what do you think? How is it? :D Reviews appreciated. It's my first fic after all :P**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hi! Chiori here. ****. Well…..I looked up how many hits there were for my story, Captured Trust, and there more than 60 so far, and more than 60 visitors. Thanks guys! :D**

**Thanks to She-Poe for the first review I ever got! **

**More review are appreciated! Pretty please? *hands cookies***

**Here's the next chapter! **

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Captured Trust Chapter 2: Burned

Zuko stared into angry blue eyes that could only belong to one person-the watertribe girl. The silence that had followed his sudden attack was shattered in a second after blue eyes met fiery gold.

"_YOU!"_ Katara cried, clearly furious.

"_YOU BURNT ME!" _ she screamed pointing at her singed clothes and right arm.

"I decide to give you another chance, and _what do you do?_ You attack me!"

"I bet this is just another one of your little plots, getting us to trust you, _then nabbing Aang_!" the waterbender clenched her hands at her sides, taking a deep breath before continuing.

"This is just like Ba Sing Se," she said quietly.

"I said I'm sorry!" Zuko cried softly, reaching for the girl. "I'm sorry for everything I've done, more sorry than I ever have been!"

"Easy for you to say!" Katara yelled at the scarred teen. "Well, I'm never going to trust you _again_!"

With that, the watertribe girl instinctively reached toward her side, preparing a water wrip to hit the prince.

"What?" Katara whispered in exasperation as she realized that the flask that had once been with her was gone.

_Shoot! I must have left it back at camp!_ She figured.

The waterbender turned on her heel, giving Zuko one last death glare.

"If you ever come back, I will not hesitate to kill you," she said before walking out of his 'camp'.

"WAIT!" the banished prince cried out to her, running after her. "I've changed, I really have!"

Katara didn't even turn her head at his outburst.

"Don't even think about trying to convince me, I know better than that," she said slowly.

Then, Katara ran.

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"Hey guys have you seen Katara?" Aang yawned ,glancing at her empty bag.

"Probably making us breakfast," Sokka answered, savoring the thought of food.

"All you think about is food!" Toph stated plainly.

"Whatever."

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_A few hours later…_

"Guys? Now I'm really worried… where's Katara?" Aang asked, picking up his glider. "I'm going to go look."

"Calm down Twinkle Toes, I think someone's here," Toph said, pointing in the direction of the forest.

A very angry Katara emerged, with a clear burn scar on her right arm.

"_What happened to you_?"

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**A/N: This is a really short chapter, I know, but I just wanted to update as a thanks for all the people who have added this fanfic to their alerts, reviewed, etc. THANK YOU! **

**Oh yeah, and for Katara's OOCness, I guess she's just really mad at Zuko for burning at her, because she didn't really trust him to start with :P **

**I hope to have a new chapter by tomorrow, or maybe Friday :D**

**-Chiori**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: The next chapter of Captured Trust. Prepare for some Katara OOCness again. XD**

**Thanks to **Iceblossom22 for the second review! *hugs*

**And to AnnaAza for the third! :D **

**A VERY Special thanks to She-Poe, who has reviewed the last two chapters! :D  
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**Disclaimer: I don't own A:TLA**

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**Captured Trust Chapter 3: Decision**

"THAT STUPID ARROGANT STUCK UP FIRENATION JERK!" Katara screamed.

"Woah there Sugar Queen, what really happened?" Toph said, though the young earthbender had a feeling she already knew the answer to the question.

"And where'd you get that nasty burn? Why didn't ya heal it?" Sokka questioned, gesturing to the burn mark on her arm, aware of her healing abilities.

"ARGH! WHY DO YOU HAVE TO MAKE THINGS SO HARD!" the waterbender shouted.

"It's alright Katara, we'll listen," Aang said, putting a small hand on her shoulder.

At the sight of Aang's smiling face, Katara's face softened a bit. She turned to face the rest of the gang and put her arms at her hips.

"Well….I kind of went to see _Zuko_," she started quietly, the last word dripping with venom.

"YOU DID WHAT?" the Gang shouted, excluding Toph, who stood with her arms crossed.

"She was trying to _help_ me guys," the Blind Bandit said in a hushed whisper.

At the mention of the last afternoon's events, the Gang quieted up for a bit, until Sokka spoke up.

"BUT STILL! That was REALLY STUPID!"

"I GOT _burned! _And I couldn't find_ any water _to heal it_!_" Katara yelled back.

In the process of yelling at each other, the Gang had already forgotten that the waterbender needed to heal her burnt arm. Katara glared at the group before stalking toward the water fountain to heal her arm.

Somewhere in the silence that followed, someone managed to choke out a few small words.

"So what're we gonna do about _Zuko?_"

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Aang took a deep breath and stated, "Well, Zuko's obviously too dangerous to be left alone."

"HE HURT MY BABY SISTER!" Sokka cried, flailing his arms above his head wildly before calming down. "He probably has more tricks up his sleeve, but we need to find a way to capture him."

"I'd hate to look for a fight, but it's the only thing we can do now," the monk stated grimly, "especially after what he did to Katara."

_My Katara_, Aang thought.

"We can just invite him back here you know," Toph said, "He's already offered himself prisoner once!"

"Oh yeah!" the watertribe warrior exclaimed excitedly, "We can get him come back, say he'll be our prisoner, and then jump him and _really_ make Zuko our prisoner!"

"You are a master of surprise, Sokka," Toph said sarcastically.

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A little while later, Katara walked over to where the three children were huddled, clearly talking about something she didn't know about. When she overheard the word, 'Zuko', she burst out in anger.

"Are you guys still talking about that jerk?"

Sokka and Aang, clearly shocked at her new arrival, stumbled a few steps back.

"Uh,…hi Katara! Are you feeling better?" Aang said, wearing his happy grin once again.

"I tried healing it the best I could, but I couldn't heal it completely, see?" Aang could make out a faint red blotch on the girl's tanned skin. _It would probably scar_, he thought.

Katara sighed and unconsciously put a hand over her burn, covering it.

"I'm fine," she whispered.

"But that's not the point! Why were you guys talking about _Zuko_?" Katara said the last word as if it were a swear word, not a name.

The others, startled at her outburst, flinched outwardly. Sokka took a deep breath and prepared to tell her the plan, but before he could, Katara burst out yet again.

"I bet you guys believed his sob story, and plan to let him join our group! How could you? He's the enemy for crying out loud! How could you even trust that-"

"Katara, we didn't say that!" Sokka said quickly, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"We've decided to take him prisoner."

Katara's mouth distorted to a malicious smile.

* * *

Zuko laid on his back, adjacent to the dying campfire. Why had he been so stupid? Burning the girl he had already hurt in Ba Sing Se? It was like he burned his only chance to get into the Avatar's little group, literally. The prince sat up, the afternoon sun beating on his pale skin. He would go back to the Avatar's group to beg for their forgiveness and trust.

Sure enough, the banished prince returned to the Air Temple late afternoon. But this time, the Gang was expecting him, like a predator would wait for its prey. Four pairs of eyes stared at the scarred prince, watching his every move.

Zuko groaned; he knew that gaining their trust was as hard as molding a piece of metal into a thin needle. He rubbed the back of his neck, unsure of what to say.

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"Why are you here? I thought we told you to _never_ come back! Are you deaf?" the watertribe boy barked.

"..Look," the prince started, "I'm not here to deceive you; I'm here to make an apology."

He turned to face a scowling Katara.

"I'm truly sorry I burned your arm…" he stated, "And I'm sorry to everyone else I have hurt in the past too."

"Like Gran Gran?"

"Or the Kyoshi Warriors?"

"Or Aang?"

"Or…."

Countless accusations were hurled at the unsuspecting prince. His whole miserable past was being shoved right back in his face.

"ENOUGH!" he bellowed, "I said I was SORRY!"

"'Sorry' won't take away my burn, or the damage you have caused to all of us," Katara declared, glaring at the prince through narrowed eyes.

"_But_, we have come to an important decision," Sokka confirmed.

"Really?" the firebender uttered, his voice full of hope.

Suddenly, earth shot up around his legs and arms, and a large icicle hovered inches from his heart.

"Yes," the warrior said.

And to Zuko's shocked expression he added, "We're taking you prisoner."

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**A/N: So there you have it! The third chapter of Captured Trust! :D **

**The chapters are short for now, but they'll get longer. I'm practically making this up as I go XD**

**Sorry for the lack of Zutara, there will be more in later chapters **

**Oh yeah, I won't be updating until I get around 10'ish reviews just cause I'm mean. :P **

**No, not really. It's just that there are like, 100 people reading this fic and only 3 people reviewing **

**Just write me a quick review, doesn't have to be thoughtful, just like "nice fic!" of something. **

**Sorry for the rant XD. **

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**EDIT!**

**Thanks for all the review guys! I never thought this story would be so popular! :D **

**Anyways, the next chapter will _hopefully_ be up before the weekend's over. I haven't started on it yet :(  
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	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I just want to thank you all for your reviews and nice comments on my story! :D This chapter will have slight hints of Zutara, yay! **

**Here's Chapter 4! **

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**Disclaimer: I don't own anything!**

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**Captured Trust Chapter 4: **

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"_Don't move."_ Katara ordered, positioning the icicle directly above the fire prince's heart.

Zuko could see the fire in her blue eyes. He knew that if he made one wrong move, she would aim for the kill. Still, the scarred teen couldn't help but notice how the waterbender's tan skin and graceful features, despite her hateful glare, made her look pretty. _No, beautiful,_ he thought.

Zuko mentally slapped himself on the forehead. Why would he be thinking of how the person who was seconds away from skewering him looked?

All thoughts of the waterbender were erased from his mind when Sokka charged at him, boomerang in hand. Zuko tried to dodge the incoming warrior, but the earth restraints and icicle prevented any movement away from the weapon, or any firebending to defend himself. A sharp pain on his head made his world go black.

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"Sokka, did you really have to do that?" Aang said, looking at the fallen prince.

"Well, that _was_ payback for getting my little sister burnt," the warrior answered, puffing out his chest.

"We could have asked him some questions," Toph said while releasing the earth restraints from the firebender.

"What do we do with _him_ now?" Katara cried.

"Do we have any extra rope left?" Sokka asked.

"Nope," Aang confirmed, after double checking their supplies.

All of a sudden, Teo, Haru and The Duke burst from one of the Air Temple buildings.

"Hey guys! Look what we found!" Teo exclaimed happily.

"Yeah, we found some sort of Air Nomad jailhouse!" Haru added.

"Perfect." Sokka uttered.

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The Gang proceeded to move the unconscious prince to the 'jail' that Haru and Teo had described. According to the two boys, the jail had a large set of rooms, each containing a small cot, old shackles, and a locked door. Sokka thought that this sort of place was perfect for housing the fire prince until they could decide what to do with him.

"Urk!" Sokka grunted as he tried to move Zuko's body, "He's really heavy!"

Aang ran over to help the watertribe warrior, but even with the boys' combined efforts, the prince was only transported a few yards before they collapsed into a heap.

"Move over sissies," Toph said, cracking her knuckles, "The Blind Bandit is going to handle this!"

With that statement, the earthbender thrust her fists into the ground, causing a ripple of earth to carry the teen's body. In seconds, Zuko was transported to the jailhouse.

"Woah, she's good," The Duke whispered to Teo.

Toph, of course, heard the compliment and yelled, "Well, I am the greatest earthbender in the world!"

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Zuko awoke to the sounds of people talking and his head throbbed. When the firebender tried to move his arms and legs, he found that they were shackled to a wall.

_Wait, shackled?_ Suddenly, the events of the previous day came flooding back to him. He remembered being taken prisoner and his world going black. Zuko sat up to the most 'comfortable' position he could be in and took in his surroundings. He seemed to be in some sort of prison, by the looks of the rustic cell, no one had used the room for quite a while. The prison itself was a few yards wide and had cobwebs hanging in every corner.

"So this is the Prince of the Fire Nation?" Zuko heard a small voice say. He turned his head to face the barred entrance of his prison cell. Standing in the doorway were two boys. One was very young and wore a large helmet with a single spike jutting out of the top. The other boy had dark hair and sat in a wheelchair.

"Teo, he looks kinda scary," the smaller boy said to the other one, Teo, Zuko figured.

"Well, he can't hurt us right now, The Duke," Teo said, prodding the prince in the side, "See?"

Zuko couldn't believe it. They were treating him, royalty, like a common zoo animal! For a moment, Zuko's hands started to sizzle, and he breathed fire. All he felt was rage and anger. Beyond the hazy red vision that he had, the fire prince saw The Duke shake with fear and press himself against Teo.

Before Zuko could do anything else, a wave of water extinguished his fire and he felt calmer, but still annoyed. He jerked his head in the direction of the attacker, and found that it was none other than the watertribe girl, Katara.

She stood with her hands pressed to her hips, an angry red colored her face.

"What exactly are you doing, Mr. _Fire Prince_?"

"I bet you're used to doing whatever you want, but I'm going to tell you this once. You're. Our. Prisoner."

She pressed her face inches from his so that he could see her face clearly. Zuko shifted uneasily under her close proximity, a flush staining his face. Luckily, Katara didn't see, and continued on.

"You better behave, or I'll make you pay."

She turned and left a stunned Zuko behind.

Before she left, Katara added, "By the way, you'll be teaching Aang firebending at dawn. You'll be kept under close supervision throughout the lesson."

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Katara stormed out of the jail and headed back to Aang and the rest of the Gang. Finally out of the Fire Prince's presence, she sighed. Katara hated the Fire Prince as much as Sokka loved food. Zuko was just so arrogant and irritating. As she thought of the teen, she remembered the sight of his hideous scar and the time they had spent in the caverns alone.

"_Maybe you could be free of it."_

_She touched the raw skin surrounding his eye. The burn was rough under her gentle touch. She saw the pained look on the prince's face. What had happened to him that resulted in the scar? Katara stroked the burnt skin and used her other hand to feel the cool metal of the vial from the Northern Water Tribe. She could heal his scar, the scar that marked him, the 'face of the enemy'. _

_She brought her hand up, gently touching the lid of the vial. _

_Argh! Why am I still thinking about Ba Sing Se?_ Katara thought angrily. _Maybe you're just thinking about Zuko._

She threw her hands up in exasperation as she realized she had just thought about the prince _again. _ Katara quickly dismissed the thoughts as the sounds of laughter and talk pounded from the direction of their campsite. Her soft boots thumped against the ground as she finally made her way back to camp.

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**A/N: Well, here's the 4****th**** chapter! I'm so sorry for the delay, but I'm basically making this up as I go. The next update will come MUCH quicker, probably a day or two later from now. **

**The plot is pretty boring right now, trust me, this fic hasn't even STARTED yet, according my plan for the story. My chapters are really short, so expect 30-40'ish chapters maybe? ;) Or I might just extend the chapter lengths, right now I have about 1,000 words per chapter only. XD  
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**Reviews/comments are greatly appreciated! :D **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Well, I only got 2 reviews for the last chapter ****. But I'm still updating Captured Trust :D I just checked my story stats, and found out that I have about 800 hits! **** Please leave more reviews! Thank you!**

**I've also made my chapters longer and a little better, so enjoy! :D**

**On to Chapter 5!**

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D****isclaimer: I don't own anything**

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**Captured Trust Chapter Five: Loss**

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As all firebenders did, Zuko woke at the crack of dawn. His muscles ached from being chained up the whole night.

Remembering Katara's words the previous day, the firebender expected to train the Avatar at dawn. Zuko drew his knees to his chest and rested his head as he waited for someone to arrive at his cell door to let him out.

Seconds passed to minutes, which slowly became hours. When he finally figured the Avatar's group probably slept in, he growled in frustration. The only thing he could really _do_ in his puny cell was wait. Soon, the banished prince got tired of staring at his knees and looked at his surroundings instead.

Zuko turned his head to stare at a black dot at the corner of one of the cell walls. When he squinted his eyes, the prince realized he was looking at the small form of a spider-fly, an insect native to the Air Nation. Zuko remembered the days he spent as a little child, sitting on his mother's lap, listening to her describing ancient insects such as the one he stared at now, thirteen years later. He watched as the spider-fly wove an intricate design in its web, remembering faintly the time when he saw a spider-fly in one of his mother's picture books.

The eight legs of the spider-fly moved rhythmically, each one of the furry legs weaving in and out in different directions. A thin strand of web shot out of each of the spider-fly's legs, coming together to form a pattern on the web. In and out, out and in. The spider-fly's legs worked in perfect harmony, stopping only when an unsuspecting dragonfly flew into its trap.

Zuko was so into the spider-fly that he didn't notice Katara slowly walking up to his cell, keys in one of her free hands.

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Katara walked up to the fire prince's cell, holding the keys Aang had found inside of the temple. Out of all the people in the Gang, _she_ had to let Zuko out of his cell. _Probably because_ _Sokka's still snoozing, Toph can't see, and Aang convinced me to go. _She thought.

As she approached the prince, the waterbender noticed he was staring not at her, but a small dot on the wall. When she stepped closer to the cell door to get a closer look at the mysterious insect, the prince didn't even acknowledge her presence. Silently, Katara laughed to herself. The Fire Prince, interested in a _disgusting, filthy insect? _ Katara soon realized that she couldn't hold the laugh in any longer, and a soft chuckle erupted from her throat.

When Zuko heard the soft laughter behind him, he jerked around to face a laughing Katara. Slightly flustered, he stared at her, a scowl planted on his face.

"I don't recall knowing that _Your Majesty_ was into filthy things like bugs." Katara stated with a smirk playing at her lips.

"Says the person who woke up five hours late," Zuko retorted.

"Well, _excuse_ me, Mr. Fire Prince, but not all of us are firebenders. We can just 'rise with the sun'."

"Technically, the Avatar -"

"Aang doesn't count!" Katara shouted as her cheeks tinged slightly. Realizing that she had almost had a pleasant argument with her most hated enemy, she regained her composture and added in a lower voice, "I'm letting you out now, and don't try anything."

Zuko immediately stopped smirking and sighed as he watched the waterbender unlocked his cuffs. Out of all the time he had spent at the Air Temple, he had finally managed to have some "fun". Arguing with Katara gave him a renewed energy, something he never felt anytime else. When the last cuff fell to the ground, Zuko grunted as he stretched his aching muscles, which felt stiff when he flexed them.

Mildly embarrassed at the sight of Zuko flexing, Katara coughed loudly to get his attention. When Zuko lifted his head to look at her once again, he caught her walking out of the cell, motioning for him to follow. Obediently, he followed the waterbender out of the buildings and into a small clearing at the edge of the Air Temple. The Avatar was already at the clearing, sitting on a small block of cement near the side of the temple. Aang stared at Zuko with a goofy grin plastered on his face.

"Can we start the firebending lesson now, _Sifu Hotman_?"

"Don't call me that," Zuko muttered under his breath, staring at the smiling boy in front of his.

"I'll be watching from here," Katara said, walking a short distance away from the prince and the airbender before sitting on a block similar to Aang's.

"Great!" Aang cried, grinning ear to ear, "You'll be able to see my first firebending tricks!"

Zuko groaned. Teaching the playful Avatar was going to be much harder than he thought.

"Enough with the chit chat, we're starting your lesson." He said while dragging the airbender to face him.

"Fire is a dangerous element. It will be hard to control and bend, " Zuko said, turning his head so the scarred side of his face could be seen.

Aang gulped, rubbing his hands nervously in his lap.

"Jeong Jeong told me that too. Even after he warned me, I burned Katara." The young monk dropped his head at the memory.

_Jeong Jeong the Deserter?_ Zuko thought. _The Avatar sure had great teachers. _

"Well, show me how much fire you can produce, any amount you can make," Zuko commander sternly while crossing his arms.

The Avatar jumped lightly off the block and took a firebending stance that he had learned from Jeong Jeong. Sweat poured out of his body as he called the fire within himself. Taking a deep breath, Aang pushed his arm out ferociously, expecting a burst of flame. Instead, a small poof of smoke bursted from his palm. Laughing nervously, Aang stepped back in defeat.

"I think I need a little more instruction, perhaps a demonstration?" he said to Zuko, who sighed in disappointment at his pupil's efforts.

"Good idea, then you better step back," Zuko replied.

Aang took a few steps back then faced his teacher. The firebender took a stance similar to the one he had done a few minutes ago. Zuko took a small breath, then threw his hand out, producing a flame the size of Momo. An awkward silence followed, and Aang clapped slowly, unsure of what to do.

"What? That was the worst firebending I've ever seen!" Zuko yelled angrily.

"Well, I thought it was pretty good-" Aang said.

"DON'T PATRONIZE ME! _You know what it's supposed to look like_!" he yelled, "ARGH! Why is this happening to me?"

In frustration, Zuko ripped off his shirt and practiced a few of his advanced firebending forms. Each of the moves he tried unfortunately ended in a puny burst of fire. In the end, it looked as if the prince was trying to make a comedic display of poofs of fire.

* * *

Katara sat, watching the fire prince shoot out pathetic flames. She almost laughed, but caught herself before doing so. Zuko had suddenly lost his firebending, but _why? _

While she was still contemplating the question, the waterbender saw Zuko strip off his shirt. She gasped at the sight of his well-built body and muscular form. Katara flushed madly, having seen a shirtless Zuko.

She had never actually seen many shirtless men, aside from Aang or Sokka, who didn't really have any muscles yet. Still, Katara never had seen anyone so muscled and strong. Even the Watertribe men back at the Sourthern Water Tribe never boasted muscles like Zuko's.

Still flushing, Katara was glad that no one noticed her, at least until Sokka came striding by, apple in hand.

"Hey sis, how's the guarding going?" the warrior said, munching. Noticing her flush, he asked, "Why's your face so red? Is it from the heat?"

Katara nodded violently before stammering, "I..I think I'm going to go cook us some dinner now!"

She ran back into the buildings, and Sokka took her spot on the block.

"Hmm…What's wrong with her?" he questioned.

"Whatever, it's my shift now anyways. I gotta guard the Jerkbender now. Ha! Jerkbenders!" Sokka laughed at his own joke, memories of Katara's mysterious attitude slowly forgotten.

* * *

While stirring the contents of the soup, Katara moved her arms gracefully to waterbend the soup into ten bowls, for all the people in the Gang, Momo and Appa. Toph, Teo, Haru, and The Duke sat around a flickering fire as they waited for their dinner. Katara sent the bowls toward the four people around the fire and bended the soup into Appa's mouth. Momo took its bowl and chattered nosily as it slurped the contents of the soup.

"Has anyone seen Aang, Zuko, and Sokka? They've been gone all afternoon," Haru asked while drinking his soup.

"Nope," Teo and The Duke answered in unison.

"Hmm…I think I hear them coming right now," Toph stated, pointing her foot in the direction of the clearing.

Sure enough, Aang, Sokka, and a grumpy Zuko emerged from the clearing. At the sight of the prince, Katara flushed as she remembered the afternoon's events. Zuko didn't notice her, and grumbled.

"I've lost my stuff," he said sadly, dropping his head in shame.

"What? I haven't touched your stuff!" Sokka cried, raising his hands.

"No, my firebending," Zuko said gruffly.

Katara had been tuning out the entire conversation until she heard that Zuko had lost his firebending.

"Hahaha!" she laughed, clutching her chest.

"What's so funny?" Zuko said, glaring daggers at her.

"Well, it would have been much better for us if you'd just lost your firebending a long time ago, when you were attacking us!"

"I don't see how that's funny," The Duke whispered to Teo, out of earshot.

"But that means I can't teach the Avatar firebending anymore, unless I can somehow "magically" regain my firebending again," Zuko said, frustrated, "That also means you guys have to find another teacher for him."

With that, Zuko turned to leave the Gang to go back to his cell again. However, as he stepped away from the group, Aang clung to his arm, holding tightly.

"What?" the prince asked, slightly annoyed.

"Maybe we can get your firebending back!" the monk cried, clinging onto his arm, "Don't leave!"

"Yeah, you're still our prisoner, remember?" Sokka said.

"Fine, but do you you have any idea how to do that?" Zuko asked, hopeful for an answer.

"Actually, no." Aang said sheepishly.

When Zuko slapped his forehead, Aang added quickly, "But I think if you trace back to firebending's original sources, you might be able to find your firebending again."

Thinking hard, Zuko tried to once again recall the lessons he had as a child in the Fire Nation schools. He recalled reading a history book covering the ancient history of the Fire Nation. Slowly remembering a picture of a tanned man with red warrior paint and feathers in his hair, he gasped.

"The Sun Warriors," Zuko said.

* * *

**A/N: That concludes the long chapter 5! :D Hope you like it! The Next chapter will contain some more parts from the 'Firebending Masters' before the plot starts again. Remember, Katara still 'hates' Zuko for what he did. Just because she admires his body doesn't mean she forgives him. XD**

**Did you like this chapter? Then review! **

**On another note, I will not update until I receive more than 20 reviews.(That shouldn't be too hard XD)**

**(edit)**

**Added a little bit more to the story to clear up some questions. :P  
**

**Anyways, R&R! :D Until next time! :3**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys! Whenever I see a review in my inbox, I always feel like updating sooner, so the more reviews the better! :D**

**So sorry for the looong delay, I was busy with homework. X(**

**Onto chapter 6! **

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**Captured Trust Chapter 6: The Firebending Masters Part 1**

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"The Sun _Whats_?" Sokka questioned, scratching his chin in confusion.

"The Sun _Warriors_," Zuko corrected, "Legend has it that they were the first firebenders. They learned from the dragons."

Aang lifted his head at the mention of the dragons. "Why can't we just learn from the dragons?" he asked.

"Dragons are extint," Zuko replied.

"I thought dragons were still alive! I saw plenty when I was young!" Aang said, jumping up.

"Well, _THEY AREN'T NOW_!" the fire prince yelled. The flames of the campfire rose suddenly, sparks flying in the air. Aang looked at the flames in fear and Katara wore an angry expression on her tan face. Zuko noticed his mistake, and lowered the flames to their normal height.

"My ancestors killed them all," he added quietly, bowing his head.

"Well, I haven't ever heard of the Sun Warriors before," the monk said after an awkward silence that followed Zuko's outburst.

"That's because they've died off thousands of years before," the firebender stated, moving to sit down on the floor.

"What's the point of looking for some dead firebenders that might not even be alive?" Sokka uttered.

"Rumors have it that the Sun Warriors still reside in ruins, hidden from the outside world."

"Yeah, if they're hidden, then how are we supposed to find them?" the warrior retorted.

"It happens to be that there are ruins not too far from here called the Sun Ruins. The Avatar and I have a good chance of finding the Sun Warriors there." Zuko finished, staring out into the dark night sky.

"Wait, hold it," Katara shouted, to everyone's surprise, "Did you just say 'Aang and me'?"

"You're still our captive, and you plan to go somewhere _unattended_ with Aang? Who knows? You could just turn your back on us and take Aang back to your filthy Fire Lord Father!" the waterbender yelled, ignoring the shocked looks on Zuko's and Aang's faces.

"I'm going with you."

****

"What?" Sokka cried, "I won't let you go on a crazy mission with that Jerkbender! Who knows what could happen?"

Katara sighed. Her brother was acting overprotective once again. "Sokka, how many times do I have to tell you this? I'm old enough to take care of myself. I can go wherever I want to go."

Moments passed as the siblings stared at each other. "Fine," the warrior finally said. He strode up to Zuko, and pointed a finger in his chest. "But if anything happens to Aang or my sister, you are dead meat."

"Sure," Zuko said unenthusiastically, easily swating the boy's finger away.

The rest of the night progressed slowly. After Katara had locked Zuko into his cell for the night, she had trudged back to their camp to sleep. After a few hours, she found it was impossible to sleep, thoughts running through her mind, troubling her sleep. Soon, the waterbender decided to practice waterbending to clear her mind.

Katara rose from her sleeping bag, making her way silently to the small fountain near the edge of camp. The soothing sounds of the rushing water helped clear her mind. She gracefully lifted her arms in a common waterbending stance, rasing an orb of water in front of her body. The moonlight reflected off the orb, and Katara could see herself in a reflection made by the water. Staring at herself, she thought about her decision to join Zuko and Aang in their quest to find the Sun Warrriors. Why had she volunteered to join them?

_It's because I can't trust Zuko to be with Aang alone. I can't even trust him!_ She thought. Thoughts of the firebending prince had her face heat up suddenly. Quckly bringing her hands up, she brought the orb to her face, cooling it off. _Why do I have to keep thinking about him! Darn it!_

Abruptly, she chose to go back to camp, ending any more thoughts of the prince. When she reached the campsite, Katara ran to her sleeping bag and shut her eyes forcefully. Sleep soon overcame her, and she drifted off into a dream.

Zuko laid his head on the cool wall of his cell. The shackles around his wrists clanked as he put his arms on his knees. Tomorrow he would find the rumored Sun Warriors and learn the origins of firebending. Firebending that didn't require anger or hate. The firebender tried to remember a time when he had not used anger as a source of firebending. Surprisingly, he couldn't find a time. The times when he had been chasing the Gang, he had been angry constantly, driven into insanity. The banished prince recalled himself as a small child, crying when no fire had come out of hands when Azula had shown him a huge fire blast. He had run to his father, who merely looked away in disgust. At that time, anger had bubbled inside of his small body, and a flame erupted from his out stretched palm.

Zuko had never wanted to rely on anger and hate to firebend, but he had no choice. Now, he had a choice, and he chose to join the Avatar in the quest to defeat the Fire Lord. Even though he felt that he had made the right choice, Zuko couldn't help but feel empty inside. His firebending was gone, and he was degraded to the status of a prisoner. The teen groaned at the thoughts and shut his eyes, waiting for sleep to come.

The next morning, Katara woke at dawn to let out the prince from his cell. She yawned. How could firebenders wake up so early?

Zuko walked sullenly next to her, his arms crossed. He noticed how the waterbender walked sleepily, her arms sagging and her usually bright eyes dull.

"Can't you walk any faster?" the prince muttered quietly. Katara, however, heard the comment.

"Look, I'm not an early bird like you firebenders, okay? It's not my fault I can't wake up," she retorted; walking slightly faster than before. A slight smirk was all she received from the sullen prince.

As the pair reached the campsite, they realized that Aang was already sitting on Appa, his gray eyes shining with excitement. Toph stood next to Appa, her small hands holding onto the creature's long fur.

"Come on guys! Let's go meet those Sun Warriors!" he cried, gesturing them to get on Appa.

"Coming!" Katara cried. She threw her hand out, reaching to grab Zuko's arm. Her aim was amiss, and she ended up grabbing his pale hand. Zuko looked up in surprise but followed her to Appa's saddle, both their faces slightly colored.

Katara climbed up first, grabbing the tufts of the Air Bison's long furry coat as she made her way up into the saddle. Zuko followed suit after her, mimicking the way she used Appa's fur to get up. Once they were settled onto the bison, Katara and Zuko sat on opposite sides of the bison, Zuko in front with Aang, and Katara in the back.

"Are you sure you guys are gonna be okay without me?" Toph's voice cut through the air.

"We'll be fine Toph," Aang said impatiently.

"Yeah, and if Mr. Fire Prince does something funny, we can take him too," Katara added, then pointed to some rope stashed in the corner of the saddle, a grin on her face. Zuko groaned at the memory; the events that had happened at the North Pole played fresh in his mind.

"Well, we're off now! _Yip yip!" _Aang yelled hastily, slapping the reins. With a mighty push of its tail, the air bison roared and sailed into the blue sky.

"_Sun Warriors, here we come!" _

__

_**A/N: So that's the end of chapter 6! Next chapter will be up soon, I PROMISE :D **_

_**Anyways, R&R! **___


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Sorry for the long delay, though I promised a quick update…. I guess school really has an impact on my writing, sorry. **

**Anyways, I have 25 reviews now for this story! I don't really know if that's good or not, since my chapters are really short….OTL . Anyways, please give more reviews! The 50****th**** reviewer (if I get there) will get a picture of a scene of their choice from any story (mine or someone else's, your choice). My DA is Chioriki by the way (I just made it, so I only have one deviation OTL). **

**On to the 7****th**** chapter! **

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**Captured Trust Chapter 7: The Firebending Masters Part 2**

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The three benders rode on Appa in silence, hours passing by quickly as they stared different directions, engrossed in their own thoughts.

"Do you know when we'll get there?" Aang sat back on the massive head of his air bison, the soft fur caressing his small body.

Zuko raised his head at the question, his shaggy black hair flowing in his face as the wind blew past. "It's only about fifty miles away from the Eastern Air Temple, but we've already rode for a few hours, so I guess we'll be there soon. I thought this thing was faster…." Appa groaned, its giant head lifting in response.

"Appa's right. We usually start our missions with a more upbeat attitude, right?" the monk said, looking to Katara, who sat in the back of the saddle lazily.

"That's right, so you better get used to it," the waterbender answered, straightening her back.

"I can't believe this," Zuko muttered, lying back down on the saddle.

It was another hour before Aang spotted a brown blur among the whites of the clouds. He grabbed the firebender's arm and pointed to the blur. "Zuko! Zuko! Is that it?"

The prince looked out into the clouds and focused on the point where the Avatar pointed at. Sure enough, a small island could be seen in the middle of the ocean. "Yes," he said slowly as Appa flew downwards.

After the bison had lowered, the island could be seen more clearly. Lush green forests bordered perimeter of the island. In the middle of the island a large civilization emerged, the vast structures and buildings dotting the area. Aang and Katara gasped as they saw the ancient city, mouths agape as they absorbed the sight. A large sun could be seen painted on one of the larger buildings, the paint shining in the bright sun.

"The Sun Ruins." Zuko uttered. 

Appa finally landed and the three riders stumbled out. Katara moaned as she noticed how stiff her legs were. Hours of riding had made her legs feel like needles and pins. The waterbender bent down to stretch, only to find that the boys were doing the same.

"I never knew that I would be so sore after riding Appa! I mean, we always do this!" Aang said while bending to touch his toes. After a few moments of stillness, the airbender yelled to Zuko and Katara, "Should we get going now?"

The fire prince looked up into the dark sky, the starless night looking back at him. "I think we should camp for the night, it's getting dark," he said after a few moments.

"Sure….I guess," Aang said, clearly disappointed.

_Who made him boss? _ Katara thought. _We can't even trust him!_

After a while, she walked over to the airbender to help him with the camp setup. The young monk smiled at her presence. His small hands dug through their supplies as he looked for their sleeping bags. Katara watched as he held up two bundles before saying, "Guys, we have a problem."

Zuko strode up to Aang, a worried look in his fiery eyes. "What is it?"

"Uh…we only have two sleeping bags in Appa's saddle," the boy said, fumbling with the sleeping bags, "I forgot that Katara was coming, so I only took enough for me and Zuko!"

"Aang, it's alright, you can sleep in one," Katara said. Zuko nodded in agreement, his golden gaze lingering on the watebender.

"Thanks guys!" the monk cried happily. Suddenly, a frown washed over his smiling face. "Then that means that you and Zuko have to share a sleeping bag or something…!" Katara immediately looked over to the firebender, both their faces coloring at the thought.

"_No wa-_" the flushed waterbender cried.

"It's okay, Katara can have the sleeping bag, I'll sleep on the floor," Zuko said, cutting off Katara's comment as he walked over to a clean patch on the floor next to Appa.

"Thanks," Katara muttered as she slid into the bag. Zuko managed a small smirk as he laid his head on Appa's soft fur, using it as a pillow. In moments, a soft snore could be heard from the young prince. Katara rolled around in her soft sleeping bag. She couldn't sleep once again. Lying on her side, the waterbender couldn't help but look over to the sleeping firebender.

_He looks so cold. He gave up that sleeping bag for me,_ she thought. As quietly as she could, Katara tiptoed her way to the prince. She lightly put her small hand on the firebender's skin. The waterbender's eyes widened as she found that the scarred teen's skin was not cold, but warm.

Abruptly, a cold wind swept through the small "camp", and Katara instinctively reached toward the warmest thing she could find, in this case, Zuko's arm. She held onto the firebender's arm even as the wind died, delighting in his warmth. A quiet grunt came from the prince. Katara flinched at the sound. _Did he just wake up? Argh, I hope not. How will I explain this? Why did I hold onto his arm in the first place? _The explosion of thoughts filled her head.

A matter of seconds passed before the waterbender realized the prince was still asleep. Breathing a quick sigh of relief, she made it back to her sleeping bag, where she fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Katara woke up to find that Zuko and Aang had both already got up before her. The young Avatar watched as she rolled up her sleeping bag before adding, "We're about to go explore the ruins!"

"What, already?" Katara asked drowsily, yawning. "It's barely sunrise."

"Zuko said it was best if we left before anyone finds us here…" Aang said.

"Whatever. Where's breakfast?" she muttered, throwing the last bag into Appa's saddle.

At the mention of breakfast, the airbender rubbed his head and looked over to Zuko. "Well, we ate before you woke up…"

"Then why didn't you wake me up?" Katara yelled furiously, her arms waving in the air.

"I liked it better when she was asleep," Zuko uttered. Aang laughed at the comment.

"_What did you say_?" the waterbender cried.

"Nothing," Zuko said quickly while rubbing his neck.

"Good. Now hand me that bag," Katara said, pointing to a small leather sack on Appa's saddle.

"What's it for?" Aang asked while airbending a small tornado to lift him to the saddle.

"You'll find out once you give it to me," she said, extending her arm. The airbender threw the small pouch into the waterbender's outstretched arm, a small air ball landing it in the girl's hands. Katara smiled as she undid the drawstrings and brought out a brownish black chunk. Aang gasped as he recognized the food.

"You got seal jerky!" he gasped.

"What?" Zuko asked, unsure what 'seal jerky' was.

"It's Sokka's favorite food," Aang explained to the firebender, "and it's Watertribe." The prince's face distorted at the thought of eating dried seal meat. The monk turned back to the watertribe girl after answering the firebender's question.

"That means that the seal jerky was Sokka's!"

"Duh," Katara replied wearily, popping another piece of the Watertribe delicacy into her open mouth.

"How'd you get it-?"

"I'm his sister; of course I know these things."

"Oh."

Katara walked ahead of the boys, who had stopped after she had brought out the seal jerky. She impatiently tapped her food and said, "So, are we going to meet these Sun Warriors or not?"

Both benders looked at each other for a split second.

"Yeah, we're coming," Aang replied a second later. He walked over to Katara's side and the fire prince followed. As the trio started to walk, the airbender turned his head.

"Appa, buddy, remember to stay here, 'kay?" Aang cried. The air bison opened its giant mouth and roared in response.

With that, the three benders descended into the depths of the Sun Ruins.

Unknown to them, a group of people watched there every movement. One of the figures turned to one of the larger forms.

"They have finally arrived."

**A/N: Who are these mysterious people? (You probably can guess already) Anyways, next part is gonna be longer and will be up next week! **

**I'm aiming for 30 or more reviews this chapter! :D Please make this happen! **

**R & R! **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Sorry for the hiatus! Since I have lots of school work now, I'm going to update once a week or two. I'm also going to lengthen the chapters. Enjoy the eighth chapter of Captured Trust! **

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**Captured Trust Chapter 8**

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A cold breeze swept through the Sun Ruins. Three benders stood side by side, walking through the old ruins. Katara stood at the front of the pack, walking briskly in front of the two boys behind her.

"So where do you think the Sun Warriors are?" Aang said.

"I think we should head toward that temple with the Sun painted on it. We passed it as we flew past Appa." The waterbender added.

"Yeah, good idea Katara," the airbender said while turning to Zuko, "What do you think?"

"It's a pretty good idea, but don't you guys have the feeling that we're being watched?" the firebender said quietly, his arms draped around his body as he walked. His swords clanked softly against his back.

"…I know." Katara whispered, "I can't shake off the feeling that something bad is going to happen. Do you think someone knows we're here-" As the waterbender finished her sentence, her foot snagged onto something.

"Wha?" Katara cried as she fell forward. The "floor" panels slid open to reveal a bed of thin needles. Both boys darted forward in attempt to save her, but Katara reached for her pouch. On instinct, she drew out her water and threw her hands in front of her body. A long ice bridge materialized, to catch her just in time. The waterbender immediately ran across the bridge to the other side of the needles and drew her water back into her pouch.

Still recovering from her initial shock, Katara managed to utter, "…A…trap..?"

"Katara! Are you okay?" Aang cried, throwing himself next to her using an air jet. Once he reached her side, he smiled as he exclaimed, "Nice reflexes by the way."

"Thanks," Katara said.

Meanwhile, Zuko squatted at the area where Katara had tripped. Groping around for a while, he found what he was looking for. A long, thin strand of black rope was strewn across the floor of the ruins. A trap.

"Are you coming, Zuko? 'Cause I could just build you an ice bridge if you can't get here yourself." The waterbender added playfully.

The prince held up the rope. "This is a trap. The Sun Warriors want to protect something valuable, and they don't want anyone to find it. We need to be more careful from this point on."

"Yeah, we get it." Katara said irritably, "Now just get over here!"

"Fine."

The firebender took a few slow steps back, and then ran toward the needles.

_Oh! Is he going to jump over the gap? It's too large for anyone to jump over!_ The waterbender thought quickly. She watched in horror as Zuko neared the gap, but sighed as she watched him run across the wall of the ruin. The firebender landed acrobatically next to Katara. Aang smiled at both of them.

"So are we going to find some Sun Warriors or not?" the monk said.

The three benders made it through the ruins gradually, trap after trap. After a few hours, they finally reached a wall; it was old by the looks of it. Moss and long plants ran across the surface of the old wall, and there seemed to be no end to it.

Zuko put his large hand on the wall. "Dead end," he stated. The firebender ran his hand along the wall's surface, looking for any giveaways, or a secret door that might lead them further. He found none.

"So I guess we're stuck." Aang said sadly.

Katara sighed. She ran her hand through her dark brown hair. Just as she was about to suggest turning back, a glint of metal caught her eye.

"Hey! I found something!" she cried. She followed the mysterious glint to a patch of wet moss. Using a few fluid strokes, she waterbended the mass of plants away. Where the moss used to be, a large red door came into view. It looked relatively old, and dark scorch marks blemished the surface of the otherwise smooth door. In the center of the door, a large red orb glistened from the rays of the sun.

"It's some type of door…" she said hesitantly.

"Yes, a Firebender Door by the looks of it," Zuko murmured. "A Firebender can open it with a steady stream of fire."

"A firebender door, huh?" Katara said. She felt as if she had seen one before. The waterbender searched through her mind for any door that they had found on their adventures. Aang seemed to have remembered quicker than her, since he gasped.

"It's like that one at Roku's temple!" he cried victoriously. His smile disappeared quickly, to be replaced with a frown. "But we needed five firebenders to activate that one…"

"Aang, this one only has one orb. I think we only need one firebender." Katara said.

"Great! Then Zuko can just open it for us!" the monk said.

The firebender scratched his neck nervously. "I can't firebend anymore, Avatar."

"Monkeyfeathers! I guess we have to think of something else, then. Oh, and Zuko, stop calling me Avatar, call me _Aang._"

The fire prince grunted in response, "Fine, _Aang_."

Katara paced around. She tried to think of a plan, but it was usually _Sokka_ who had all the plans, not her. She suddenly thought of the time when her brother had ingeniously invented "fake" firebending.

"I've got it!" she shouted.

"Really?" Aang said. "What?"

"Remember when Sokka made those fake fireblasts at Roku's temple?"

"Oh! I remember! That was when we tricked those dumb firebenders into thinking that we had opened the door-" Zuko coughed to get Aang's attention. "Oh yeah, sorry Zuko." He said quietly.

"Yes, yes." Katara waved her hand around, "But last time, we only made a small fireblast. What if we could recreate it, but have Zuko use what little firebending he has left to power the fireblast so it seems as if he's firebending. The door will then open! Genius, huh?"

"That's a good idea. How'd you think of it?" Zuko questioned, turning to the amused waterbender.

"I guess it just runs in the family."

"So how are we going to create those fake firebending blasts?" Aang asked, twirling his staff between his fingers.

"Simple," Katara answered, "Just do what Sokka did last time." She paused for a moment, her brown hair swaying gently in the breeze. "I need that seal jerky bag," the waterbender announced finally.

The airbender threw the blue pouch toward the girl's outstretched hand. She caught it expertly in mid-air.

"Just asking, but what are you going to do with Sokka's bag? Last time, we used animal fat and oil!" the monk said.

"I think she knows what she's doing," Zuko stated plainly to the small boy.

Katara undid the drawstrings binding the bag together, and reached her slender hand into the hole of the leather bag. The waterbender drew her hand out a moment later, a large chunk of seal jerky in her fist. She smiled triumphantly and started rubbing the jerky against the leather pouch. Aang and Zuko stared questionly at the waterbender, but suddenly gasped in understanding. Large oil stains were left behind in places where she had rubbed against. Katara finally dropped the left over seal jerky into the bag, sealing it tightly again.

"Now all Zuko has to do is light the bag, and _BAM_!" _Fake firebending_," she said, imitating her brother's voice.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Zuko asked.

"Oh, I'm sure Sokka won't mind losing some seal jerky," the waterbender said, but seeing the firebender's confused expression, she added, "Of course it will!"

"Okay, then here goes nothing," the scarred prince murmured while bringing his arms together in a firebending stance. He spread his hands quickly and thrust them in front of him forcefully. A weak flame erupted from his open palm. The flame skimmed the end of the bag, burning a small portion of it, but quickly extinguished. The firebender immediately conjured another flame and lighted the bag. Again, the flame was gone as fast as Zuko lit it. He moaned in frustration, and in his fury, sent out multiple blasts at a time at the leather pouch. The blasts were larger than any one that he had made before. The fire blasts hit the oiled pouch, and the bag started to simmer and crackle.

"Stay back!" Zuko managed to cry out to the two benders behind him. The fire intensified, and the prince held his stance, sending out more small blasts. After a few moments, a huge explosion could be heard throughout the whole ruin. The leather pouch, made with animal fat and skin, had exploded with the aid of the jerky oil and Zuko's fire. The bag's explosion of burned jerky and leather bits collided at full force toward the prince. The force of the explosion sent the surprised firebender flying back.

Through the explosion and the smoke, Katara could see a black form hurling through the air. She barely had time to raise her hands in front of her body when Zuko collided straight on with her. The pair tumbled on the ground, finally stopping when they hit a wall. Both their faces were as red as tomatoes, and Katara reluctantly remembered the previous night's events and her face deepened in color. Zuko quickly recovered from the shock and stood up quickly, dusting off his knees like nothing had happened. He reached his hand out to a flushed Katara. "Come on, let's get back to Aang." He said quickly under a flushed face.

"Y-You JERK!" the waterbender shouted, swatting away Zuko's arm. She stood up and marched away from the firebender. Zuko sighed and rubbed his neck, following Katara through the smoke. They found Aang standing and gaping at something in the middle of the smoke. "What?" Katara uttered quietly, squinting through the smoke.

The smoke cleared, giving Katara a better view of what Aang had been looking at. She could see the red crystal shining brightly in the center of the door, and with a large squeak, the doors started to open slowly.

**What's inside the door? Most can guess that already :P Next part is gonna be part canon BTW. Sorry for the whole delay and such. The next chapter will be up next week I hope, and last part of FBM. **

**I'm close to 40 reviews! :D (Wants 40 reviews) **

**R&R guys! **


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: **Woah, it's been such a long time since I've updated! I've been busy with Real Life, and doing other stuff. But, I've been reading fanfics too, so hopefully, I've improved. Anyways, here's the next chapter of Captured Trust! Sorry for making you guys wait :D F.Y.I, the chapters are gonna be longer now! w00t!**

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Captured Trust Chapter 9: The Firebending Masters

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Katara held her breath as she watched the large doors swing open. She was treated to an eyeful of darkness. _What? So there's nothing in this room? _She wondered, blinking in disbelief. She blinked again. And again. Katara realized with a start that she was not looking at an empty room, but an extremely dark one. When her eyes just started to adjust to the darkness, she jumped back in surprise. A large man, the waterbender guessed by the shape of the figure, was glaring menacingly at her. Katara almost drew out the water from her pouch until she heard Aang shout.

"Woah! Look at all those _statues!_ They look so real, right Zuko?" the young monk cried, pointing out the "man" Katara had seen to an annoyed Zuko. The firebender glanced in the waterbender's direction, the look on his face saying that he wanted to be anywhere but here. Soon, Aang had dragged Zuko closer to the statues, observing their every detail. Katara couldn't help but notice how the statues, lined up in a circle formation, seemed to be doing some sort of crazy _dance. _ The Avatar seemed to have noticed the same thing; as he started to copy the form of the first statue.

The statue had its arms spread out, with the palms facing upwards and had one foot off the gound. Aang stepped in front of the statue, coping the position of the statue's hands and body position. As Katara watched the young boy, she watched in horror as the boy's foot suddenly fell down and a clicking sound was heard. Aang jumped up in alarm as he heard the clicking noise. His foot had landed on some sort of panel, and upon doing what the statue had did, he had activated some sort of mechanism.

The three benders automatically assumed that the mechanism Aang had set off was some sort of trap, and assumed their battle positions. Katara had her water flask open and ready to attack. Zuko had out a fireball, and kept a wary eye out for any signs of danger. Aang had already flipped over the statue using his staff, and got ready to attack.

A few minutes passed before anyone dared to move. Aang was the first to move, he hesitantly lowered his staff. "Well….that was weird," he stated.

"Do you think that was a trap?" Katara said quietly.

"No, if it was, something would have been set off after the click." Zuko said, extinguishing his flame.

The young monk glided toward the statue once more, inspecting the area where the clicking sound had come from. Aang ran his hand against the ground, looking for any type of groove or crack. His hand found a rectangle shaped button inscribed into the cool floor. The airbender reached over and gently pushed the button experimentally.

"_Don't press it Aang_! You might set off the trap that didn't go off last time!" Katara's voice pierced through the temple.

"_Too late…" _Zuko thought as he saw the boy look up startled, his hand fell as the button was activated.

Aang flinched as he waited for something to happen. Again, nothing had happened at the activation of the button except for a loud clicking noise. "Guys, I'm starting to think that this button won't set off any trap, but might help us figure out the mystery of this temple…" the Avatar stated.

Aang once again took the posture of the first statue. The button clicked. The airbender took his foot off the button and took the posture of the second statue. Two buttons clicked under his foot. At the same time, Aang's brain clicked. _There were two identical pairs of statues, so…_

"Zuko! Come dance with me!" he cried in exasperation.

"_No way!" _Zuko cried, but after receiving a death glare from Katara, he mumbled a gruff "Fine."

The reluctant firebender joined the airbender, taking his position on the opposite side of Aang, the same first statue in front of him. Both boys raised their hands and placed their feet down at the same time. Two loud clicks sounded, and a loud rumble filled the room. _Darn! We've set off a trap!_ Zuko thought hastily. To his surprise, the rumble came from the statues, which were moving down and into the floor of the temple.

"Let's keep going then," Aang said, already copying the second statue.

The two benders copied the statues, one by one, loud clicking sounds sounding from the clicked buttons. When they had copied the final button, their fists were facing each other and a massive rumble came from behind them. In the empty space between the boys, a large pedestal rose up to meet them. On the top of the pedestal sat a golden egg-like thing.

"What _is that?_!" Aang yelled.

"Looks like a golden egg," replied Katara.

Zuko paid no attention to their banter, and walked up to the pedestal. The intricate pattern on the egg stirred something in his memory, but he couldn't remember what it was. He lifted the 'egg' of the pedestal to take a better look at the design. As soon as the egg left its holder, the pedestal shot downwards into the ground. _Shoot! _He thought. Zuko had completely forgotten the possibility of it being a trap. He heard Katara gasp loudly behind him. A darkish green fluid was flowing out of the hole that the pedestal had sunk into. The fluid seemed to be alive; the tendril-like water seemed to grab at his feet. Even though Zuko did not know what the fluid was, he knew it was nothing good. The firebender jumped nimbly to the side, but the fluid followed.

"Everybody, _run!_" Zuko hollered, the rushing sound of liquids flowing out of the hole covering up most of his words. Katara and Aang seemed to understand, and dodged the incoming water tendrils.

"It's too much!" Aang cried, using his staff to repel the tendrils while using airbending to jump over the higher ones. He was right, Katara noticed, the water was already at waist level, and more was gushing in. She was using waterbending to control the water. It was an easy job for her, a waterbending master. Aang seemed to have trouble controlling the water using airbending, so he resorted to using airbending.

Zuko had tried to use firebending to hit the fluid tentacles, but firebending only slowed down the tendrils a tad. Besides, his firebending was still weak. He decided that the only thing he could do for now was dodge and jump over the tendrils. The water level had rose significantly, and the firebender realized that he had less and less places to jump off. Zuko lifted his head, looking for any sort of escape hatch. He found a large sewer like opening on the top of the temple. He used the wall to jump up, the momentum of the run pushing him up. His hands grabbed the bars of the hatch. Below him, Katara and Aang seemed to have the same ideas.

"Hey Zuko! I'm coming up too! Give me some space up there!" Aang cried while using his airbending to shoot onto the hatch, barely squeezing next to Zuko. That left only a small gap of space next to Zuko on the hatch. Aang was looking warily at Katara, who was busy waterbending the tendrils away from her. The fluid was already up to her shoulder level, and it was getting harder and harder for her to dodge the water. Finally, she gave up the waterbending, seeing that dodging the water was already useless. She lifted her head and shouted to the two boys above her.

"Hey guys! I'm going to go up soon! So make space for me Aang!" she cried, motioning for Aang to move over so that she could squeeze in next to him. The waterbender noticed the small gap next to the firebending prince, but she didn't ever want to be next to _him. _

The airbender nodded his head, and proceeded to move. It was at that moment that the benders finally realized what the liquid was.

"Hey! I can't move my arms or legs!" Aang yelled, startled, as he tried desperately to jerk his arms and legs away from the top of the hatch. Zuko noticed that he too, could not move his body parts. The fluid that had dried up on their clothes had "stuck" their bodies to the top of the temple.

"It's some type of glue," Zuko muttered angrily.

Katara seemed more disappointed than surprised, as she realized the only place she could jump to was the space next to Zuko. The water tribe girl sighed, and then used some of her water from her flask to form an ice surf. Using the fluid tendrils, she rode up to the top of the temple, careful not to get any of the sticky liquid on her body.

As she neared the boys, she twisted her body in midair and landed right next to Zuko, their bodies closer than she had expected. Zuko's face started to heat up at that moment, and he was glad that the sky had already gotten dark. Similarly, Katara blushed violently, jerking her gaze away from his. Both waterbender and firebender were looking opposite directions, and another awkward silence filled the gap between the two. Aang, oblivious to both of their blushes, spoke up.

"Hey Katara, Zuko, let's try getting out of here!"

"Uh….sure A..Aang," the waterbender stuttered.

"..Yeah," Zuko mumbled gruffly.

"Any ideas?" the airbender inquired.

"Well, our bending is pretty much useless, seeing the position we're in now," Katara said, staring up at the dark sky and the full moon that hung in the night. She felt the pull of the moon on her body, but she could no longer move her arms due the glue like liquid that held her arms onto the ceiling of the temple.

"I guess we have no other choice then," the Avatar stated. Zuko and Katara stared at him, wondering what he had to say.

"We've got to shout for help!" he said, and with that, he yelled 'Help!' at the loudest he could manage. Zuko desperately wanted to cover his ears, an Airbender's yell was louder than a normal person's.

Katara inwardly sighed. This was going to be a long night.

"Why haven't they come _back_ yet?" Sokka cried, slamming his club to the ground.

"Let them take their time, they have to learn firebending, of course it's gonna take a while…" Toph suggested, sitting on the ground.

"Hmph. But my _little sister_'s with that firebending jerk! How can I just sit around? Who knows what he could do to her!" The water tribe boy cried, emphasizing every word.

"Calm down, Snoozles! Zuko was telling the truth when he said he wouldn't hurt Katara. Besides, she's a strong waterbender, don't underestimate her." The Blind Bandit explained coolly.

Sokka opened his mouth to protest, but then closed it. He pursed his lips and said loudly, "But if they don't come back by tomorrow night, I swear, we're going to go after them no matter what."

"Yeah, yeah. Fine." Toph said, waving her hand.

The only non bender of the small group lifted his head and looked up into the dark sky. _I wonder how Katara's doing…_

The three benders had stayed in wait for a few hours now, Aang yelling out help a few times every ten minutes. His voice was getting hoarse now, and he finally decided to stop. "I wonder if anyone heard us…" he said with a sad tone.

"Yeah, I don't want to be stuck here forever until I die," Katara added in a humorous tone.

Zuko chuckled lightly, then put on a stern face. "The Avata-I mean Aang, has to go defeat my father in a few months, we need to get out of here _now. _

"I agree." The waterbender replied curtly.

"…So…what do we do then-?" the airbender said, his words cut off when he heard the faint sound of footsteps in the distance. "Psst. _Guys!_" he whispered.

"What?" the two benders asked, looking at Aang.

"I hear someone coming, maybe its help!" the young boy cried, ecstatic at the thought of rescue.

"What if it's an enemy?" Zuko whispered harshly. His sentence was unheard by the Avatar, who opened his mouth and continued his plea for help. Zuko almost facepalmed, if he could. _That boy always acts before he thinks. _ He thought.

Katara waited nervously as she watched Aang cry out for help. She hoped that Aang wasn't leading them to their downfall. If the people that he called were Fire Nation, they would be goners, _dead. _ The waterbender shivered at the thought.

The footsteps grew louder and nearer, and Zuko craned his neck through the bars to get a closer look. He paled when he saw that there was a group of about ten people coming toward them, and the fact that the people were holding _fireballs_ in their hands. The firebender automatically thought, _"Fire Nation soldiers!"_ His mind screamed at him to tell Aang and Katara, but he decided otherwise. They would certainly freak out more than he would, and cause more trouble for them. If they stayed quiet, the people might not see them and pass them by. But _Aang_ had to just shout and reveal their position. Zuko grumbled in annoyance. Then if the people were actually soldiers and found his group, then Aang would most likely be killed, as well as Katara. He, the exiled fire prince, would be brought back to the Fire Nation in chains and brought before his father…

"Oi! Zuko! Stop staring in space!" he heard Katara whisper next to him. "Look! It's _them." _

By the sound of her voice and the lack of fear in it, Zuko breathed a sigh of relief. So it wasn't the Fire Nation soldiers after all, but who were they? A quick glance up gave the firebender his answers. On top of them stood a few men, their skins dark and their faces painted with warpaint. On their heads were some feathers. In their hands, they held spears and fire.

_Finally…the Sun Warriors…_

After the three benders had been spotted, the Sun Warriors had looked at them for a while, studying them as if looking through their minds. Zuko, out of the three, had felt very uncomfortable having the warriors looking at him. It reminded him of the times that he had stood atop his palace in the Fire Nation, the people looking up to him from below. After a while, the head of the Sun Warriors beckoned to some of the people behind him to come over to the place that Katara, Aang, and Zuko were stuck. They pulled a lever next to the hatch, and the bars swang out, with them on it. A few other Warriors had then rushed over, and using a special liquid, had removed some of the sticky liquid attached to the three of them so that they could be removed from the hatch. The Sun Warriors then moved them over to sit on the floor of the temple's top. The sticky goo was preventing any movement and was hardened around the three like a cocoon. The Warriors had also set a few anteater like animals next to them, and the animals were licking up the goo as if it were some sort of food.

"Um…Hi..?" Aang said timidly. The Sun Warrior leader raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Seeing this as an opportunity to speak again, Aang spoke up once more.

"So…what's this sticky stuff that's on us?" he asked, also eyeing the small animal licking up the goo from his body.

"Ah," One of the Sun Warriors stood in Aang, his voice low and gruff, "That is natural glue made from the plants around here. This animal here is an anteater bear, and it feeds on this glue. We can also use a special type of liquid to take the stickiness of the glue away so that it can be removed."

"Oh! So…? Aang began to ask another question.

"Enough with the questions!" Another voice boomed. The owner was a large man who was much larger than the rest of the group. He had more face paint on than the others and bore a serious expression. "I am the Sun Warrior Chief. You will answer our questions."

He paused, glancing at the threesome warily, intimidating them with his glare. "Who are you, and what do you want?"

Aang was the first to pipe up yet again. "I'm the Avatar, and these people with my are my fri-"

"SILENCE!" the Chief boomed again. Aang's eyes widened in horror.

"The Avatar has not been seen for _one hundred years_! How could you think we would believe that stupid excuse? And _why _would the Avatar join with the Fire Nation?"

"What?" Zuko said questionly, his eyes narrowing.

"Your _friend_ here looks awfully Fire Nation like," the Sun Warrior Chief stated, pointing at the scarred teen.

"Well…that's cause he is! He's the Fire Nation's prince!" Aang exclaimed, not too aware of the death glares given to him by a certain waterbender and firebender.

"He is?" the chief raised a questioning eyebrow, and then gestured to his men, pointing to Zuko. "_Kill him!_"

Zuko's eyes widened as he saw a group of three Sun Warriors rush at him, flame wheels spinning in their hands. He knew that he could take them, if it wasn't for the glue that stuck him to the ground. The anteater bears hadn't finished licking up the glue on his body yet. Realizing that he had no other choice, the firebender closed his eyes, and waited for the pain to hit him. It never came. When he opened up his eyes, he saw that Katara had moved her body in front of his, her legs were already unstuck.

"Don't…touch…him..! He's not like the others!" she gasped. Zuko was torn between shock and relief. This was _Katara_, the girl that had despised him, the girl he had betrayed, and the girl that was saving him now.

The Sun Warriors had stopped in shock, their fires dying. Finally, the Sun Warrior Chief lifted his hand, and brought it back down, the warriors also stepped back. "Why do you defend this man? He is the son of the treacherous Fire Lord, Ozai! It was because of him and his forefathers that the ways of the Sun Warriors has been lost." The glare on the waterbender's face made him say with a sigh, "As the lady wishes, we will let him live for now." He looked back at Katara questionly, "By the way, are you the prince's slave or captive by any chance? Because since you're traveling with him-"

"WHAT?" the waterbender screamed, "_No way_!" The hate in her voice was clear. Even the Sun Warriors were startled by her sudden outburst.

"Okay, Okay," the Chief said slowly, his face turning stern once again. "If you claim you are not like the other Fire Nation people, then why have you stolen the sacred _Golden Dragon Egg_?"

"Huh?" All of them exclaimed at once. Zuko looked around, could the Egg he was talking about be the one they had found in the temple? The firebender looked to his side. The egg was sitting next to him, in the midst of the goo. The golden features of the egg sparkled in the firelight.

"You mean _this?_" he said, jerking his head to the direction of the egg.

"Yes." The Chief said, pouring some clear liquid of the egg. The goo parted, and the Sun Warrior picked it up carefully.

"Many thousand years ago, the first ancestors received a mysterious golden egg from our Masters, the dragons. For generations, we passed the egg down, it never once hatched. There was even once a legend that went with the egg. But that was forgotten through the pages of time. Now, it is a symbol of our long dead Masters, a sacred remnant. Many have tried to steal our egg, but I must tell you, they have never lived to see the next morning." The Chief's words sent shivers down the Aang's and Katara's spines. Zuko, however, was deep in thought.

_The Golden Dragon Egg, huh? That explains the design on the egg. The sign of the dragon. _He thought. Suddenly, another thought racked his brain. He once again remembered his times as a young child, the days he studied ancient novels. It was faint, but he remembered reading a page about the Sun Warriors, and a legend about an egg, the Golden Egg. _I can't remember much, but I'm pretty sure that the legend want something like: _

_When savior of the world and sworn enemy… join…_

…_then, and only then…will the Golden Egg crack… _

Zuko tried hard to remember more, but he could only remember those two parts of the legend. The Sun Warrior Chief's loud voice brought him back from his thoughts.

"…In order to prove your innocence, you will go through the Trial of Fire. You can choose to do this trial, or die this instant-"

"We'll do it!" Aang cried loudly.

"Good choice. But be warned, no one has ever passed this trial. And no one has survived."

**A/N: How was it? :D Longer chapter (3,700+ words~!) I made up most of the stuff in this chapter, like the glue and the Golden Dragon Egg things. Anyways…in my fic, the dragons are all dead, none alive. You've got to wait to see who the new Master(s) is! **

**Leave me some reviews! I want to get to at least 45(10 reviews) by the end of this chapter, or I really feel tempted to throw away this fic for good **** 50****th**** reviewer gets a picture request(of any story, fanfic they wish) and a chapter dedicated to them. **

**Next chapter is probably gonna be up between next week and next month :P **

**Anyways, next chapter: Trial of Fire**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Just the amount I wanted ****. This chapter is shorter since I don't have enough time to make it super duper long like last time. 10 Chapters already! :D **

**No Zutara this chapter or the next, since Katara isn't really appearing that much anyways :P. **

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar.

Captured Trust Chapter 10: The Trial Begins (Firebending Masters)

Aang was in the Air Temple where he had grown up. The monks and his old friends were all gathered there, smiling and talking. Monk Gyasto was talking to another airbender happily, playing a game of Pai Sho. Young sky bison were roaming and soaring across the sky, airbenders sitting atop their furry backs. _It's just like before…._ Aang thought.

"Hey guys!" he cried out excitedly, waving to get the monk's attention. Slowly, the monks turned their heads. On their faces were not the smiles from before, but sad and solemn looks. They opened their mouths as if to say "Where have you been," but no sound came out. Aang gasped. The monks were slowly dissipating into dust clouds, and the dust was gathering and swirling around his feet.

"No!" the Avatar hollered, reaching out his hand to a disappearing Gyatso! "Don't leave me again!"

Soon, the dust had obscured his vision, and Aang had to cover his eyes with his small hands. He felt the clouds go away, and gingerly lifted his hands away. Suddenly, the smirking face of Fire Lord Ozai was in front of him. Aang reflexively took an Airbending stance and shot his hands out in a airbending position, but no air came out. Ozai laughed menacingly and rose his hand to shoot flames at the young monk. Aang screamed as the flames engulfed him, burning him and racking his body with pain. He was still screaming when he opened his eyes.

In front of him stood Katara, Zuko, and the Sun Warrior Chief, who was poking him with a spear. Sun Warriors stood in a circle around them.

Katara breathed out, "We were so worried Aang…you wouldn't wake up…and you were screaming-"

"I'm fine," he gave Katara a small smile, then rubbed his tired eyes, "By the way, what time _is _it? I'm really sleepy."

"Dawn. We have to take the Trial of Fire, remember?" Zuko huffed.

"Oh yeah, I remember. But _why _does it have to be at dawn? We need a long rest, especially after that long trip on Appa, and-"

"Enough talking," the Chief silenced the three with a wave of his hand. He used his other hand to beckon another Sun Warrior forward. The Sun Warrior handed the Chief a long scroll. The Chief coughed into his fist as he opened the scroll. "The Trial of Fire begins today. I will explain the rules now."

"This trial is a test of bravery, teamwork, and skill. To pass this trial, you must go up the Sun Mountain and retrieve the Dragon's Fire from the top of the mountain. The fire will be on a pedestal, similar to the one the Golden Dragon Egg was on."

"That's easy! I'll just airbend us up there!" Aang exclaimed to Zuko and Katara.

"No," The Sun Warrior Chief said sternly. "No bending is allowed in this area. It is sacred. You must pass this test without your special abilities and depend on your teammates for help. The mountain is filled with dangerous animals and perilous cliffs. It is not easy to climb."

"Fine." Aang said quickly, a stubborn look on his face.

"So…do we start the trial now?" Katara said to the Chief, fingering her flask nervously.

"Yes, but you will not partake in the trial," he said to the waterbender. The water tribe girl dropped her jaw.

"What? Why not?" Aang exclaimed, flailing his hands, "Katara is a wonderful waterbender!"

"She is not a firebender, therefore, she is not qualified," seeing the look on Aang's face, he added, "Do not worry; she will be perfectly safe with us as we wait for you and your friend to finish."

"Let's get this over with then," Zuko cut in roughly.

The Sun Warrior Chief nodded his head and motioned for Aang and Zuko to stand on a large platform next to a big mountain. _The Sun Mountain…Sure is big…_Aang mused as the Sun Warriors started to perform a series of hand gestures and form fireballs in their hands. Soon, the Chief pricked his hand with his spear, and dipped his bloody finger into the fire that he had created. Then, he and the other Warriors closed their eyes as if to pray. The fire in their hands turned an eerie shade of white. Aang gaped. _White fire? _

The Sun Warriors then thrust out their hands and the platform Aang and Zuko were on burst into flames. The areas around them were covered in fire blazing 10 feet in the air. The only place the two benders could go through without travelling through the white flames was to the mountain. Shuddering, Aang whispered to Zuko, "Do you think you could bend the flames away? They're creeping me out." Zuko nodded.

The prince took a Firebending stance and parted his hands in efforts to bend the flames away. Nothing happened. _Maybe it's just me._ He thought. He opened his hand while concentrating on creating a fire in his palm. Again, nothing appeared.

"What? I can't bend?" the scarred teen cried. Aang tried to flip his staff using airbending, but landed in a belly-flop.

"I can't either…" he said in disappointment.

"I told you, you can't bend in this sacred place. Rely on your motor skills." They heard the booming voice of the Chief over the roaring fire.

"Okay, okay, but what is this fire? I've never seen white fire before!" Aang yelled.

"It is a special form of firebending passed down by the Sun Warriors. It is in our blood. This flame is even more powerful than lightning. Once lighted, no one can bend it ever again. It will keep burning until the end of time. Touching it can result in death."

"You mean we're stuck here?" Aang shuddered.

"Once you pass the test, the flames will recede." The Chief stated.

"And if we don't?" Zuko questioned.

"You'll die." Came the simple answer.

"I guess we're on our own now," Aang said nervously to the firebender next to him.

"Yeah, and you'll need this to survive then, if we don't have bending," Zuko said while handing Aang one of his swords from his back. He held his own.

"Thanks." The young monk smiled at the banished prince while fingering his new sword.

"Well, there's no turning back now." He said loudly.

Over the crackling of the fire, they heard the Chief boom.

"Let the trial….BEGIN!"

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**A/N: Did you like the chapter? Want to give me a suggestion? Review then! :D See ya all next time! **


	11. Important Notice

Captured Trust Notice:

**A/N: Hey guys! Been a loonnnggg time since I ever updated, but I've decided to continue this fanfic! (After about a year of nothingness) ! XD Anyways, I'll try to continue this story now that I've had such I long break and stuff! :D**

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	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Yeah, I promised I'd continue this fic, so here it is! My writing style may seem a little weird and not consistent with the previous chapters, cause I still need to get used to writing Avatar again :D**

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Chapter 12: The Hard Trek to the Top(LOL this is actually Chapter 11, but I just want to be consistent with FFN's chapter numbering XD)

"Hey Zuko, how long do you think we've been walking?" Aang asked, his voice tired and soft. Said Firebender turned around to look at the exhausted airbender.

They had been traveling for quite a long time, and Aang was having trouble keeping up with the Fire Prince since they had left for the start of the trial. There had been no apparent trail leading them to the top of the mountain, and Zuko's dual blades came in handy when they started hacking plants out of their way to try and reach the top. The Firebender, who obviously had more experience with his swords, had been moving at a brisk pace in the front of the Avatar for the entire trek.

"I think it's been around five hours, maybe longer," Zuko replied while blindly hacking at plants in his way, "…why do you ask?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe it's because we've been traveling for hours _with seemingly no_ progress?" The young monk cried out in frustration, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Don't worry, if we keep going up, we'll eventually reach the top, right?" The scarred prince said quietly, doubt in his voice. "It's not like you to give up this easily, Aang." He added.

"Who said anything about giving up?" Aang shouted, trying to put a big grin on his face to erase any signs of fatigue. His attempts were failing though; Zuko tried to hide his amusement at the airbender as he tried to maintain his smile, which was slowly fading.

"Fine." The Avatar said swiftly, "I'll admit that I am a bit tired," He said while sticking his arms across his chest defiantly. As he watched Aang, Zuko was faintly reminded of his younger self, arrogant and defiant, and he managed to smirk.

"Even a blind platypus bear could see that you clearly need to rest, we'll set up camp here," he said while stopping at a small clearing in the midst of all the plants. A small cliff stuck out from the end of the clearing, and Zuko could almost see the top of the mountain. He reasoned that they could reach the top soon, possibly by the end of the next day, maybe even quicker. He turned his head quickly, his dark bangs swishing across his rugged face as he turned to face Aang again. The airbender was fast asleep, his hands and legs sprawled on the dirt, as if he had fallen asleep the moment he had hit the ground. Zuko grinned, the Avatar was clearly was lying when he said that he wasn't tired. The firebender's thoughts quickly turned from the airbender in front of him to a certain waterbender. How was Katara doing? He wondered if she was worried about them, then remembered how much she had hated him. Of course she would only care about the well being of Aang, her precious Avatar, and not him.

His thoughts once again drifted to the time that they had spent in Ba Sing Se, the time when she had squeezed in awkwardly against him when they were stuck in the goo, and even when she had lightly touched his arm when they had camped out when searching for the Sun Warriors. The prince's thoughts stopped abruptly, as his face started to heat up. Why was he thinking so much about Katara, the waterbender who would much rather him being dead then with the Gaang? Slowly, Zuko willed the blush to go down. Katara hated him, and she would never forgive him for what he had done to her, and he didn't blame her. He was a banished prince, and had hurt the Aang and his friends in many ways. The teen's thoughts continued until he slowly succumbed to sleep.

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The Sun Warriors weren't too bad of a people, giving Katara some food and water after the two boys had started the trial. Although they kept her under constant surveillance as if she was a prisoner, the waterbender was allowed enough freedom to walk around and survey the area. As Katara munched on the slightly crunchy pastry that was given to her, she wondered how Aang and Zuko were doing on the trial. She didn't care less for what would happen to Zuko. Even thinking about the fire prince brought caused her anger to boil, and the waterbender quickly diverted her thoughts to Aang. The Avatar could surely handle the trial, couldn't he? For a second, she almost wondered if they would make it out of the trial alive. Surely the Sun Warriors' test couldn't be _that _hard.

"_But be warned, no one has ever passed this trial. And no one has survived." _The Sun Warrior Chief's words echoed through her head once again. _No!_ Katara said to herself, she would believe in Aang. She knew he could pass the test; he was the Avatar for crying out loud. And Zuko….as much as the waterbender _hated him, _he was the Fire Prince, although a banished one, and he could probably take care of himself well enough, having been an outcast for so long. Casting out all her pessimistic thoughts, the waterbender pondered faintly on the two bender's return.

"_Aang…Zuko, please make it out ….alive…."_

__

When Zuko woke up, he noticed that the sky had turned a lighter shade of blue, and that the sun had just barely peeked over the mountains. _Well, Firebenders do rise with the sun…_ he thought to himself. After contemplating their next route to the top of the mountain, Zuko quickly walked over to the still sleeping Aang. The young Avatar looked so peaceful, although he would be the one to decide the fate of the world in only a month or so. Aang would be the one to stop Ozai, who was his father, the one who had given him his cursed scar to take with him for the rest of his life. And Azula, who had always been the one that was the better of the two siblings, and the one that had caused him to embarrass himself in front of his parents and the other people in his palace. Zuko's face twisted into a scowl. Why did Azula have to always be better than him? Why did Ozai have to give him his scar? Why could he have any _honor?_

A soft snore interrupted his thoughts, and he turned to face the sleeping airbender, who was the one who had made the sound. Slowly, Zuko took Aang's shoulders and shook him back and forth to try to forcefully get him to wake up. The Avatar's eyelids suddenly fluttered open, and he groggily sat up from his sleeping position.

"Wha-? K-Katara? Is that you?" Aang rubbed his eyelids, "Are we under attack? Is Zuko trying to capture me again-?"

"No, I'm not." Zuko frowned at the airbender's sudden statement. He cringed at the mention of his chasing of the Avatar, the past still being one of his greatest regrets.

"Oh, wait; it is you Zuko, but-," Aang said, finally rubbing away the sleep from his eyes, "What time is it anyways?"

"It's about dawn." The firebender replied curtly, pushing his dark bangs out of his face. The airbender stood up with a start and started to walk away from the clearing, leaving Zuko behind, which was a rare sight.

"Come on Zuko, we need to get to the top of the mountain quick! Katara is waiting for us, and I bet she's really worried about our safety." Aang smiled as he mentioned the young waterbender.

"_He still has a crush on her, doesn't he," _Zuko thought to himself. The Avatar was probably in love with his waterbending teacher, her being one of the first people that had been with him as he went on his travels around the world.

"Okay then, let's go. If we continue at the pace we're at now, we should be able to reach the top of the mountain and finish this darned trial by noon, at least." The firebender said, walking briskly until he was in front of the airbender once again. "Also, we might need to stop to get some food along the way. We haven't even gotten any dinner last night or breakfast yet." He added.

"Oh yeah!" Aang cried, his eyes widening at the thought of food, "I totally forgot about eating! I was too busy concentrating on finishing this trial!" As if on cue, the airbender's stomach growled, and much to his embarrassment, Zuko's stomach did the same. Both benders held their stomachs simultaneously and they both managed to smirk. Soon, Aang was rocking with laughter and Zuko managed to keep his cool, but was already failing to keep his cool demeanor. The firebender finally let out a small chuckle escape from his mouth, and it soon erupted into loud laughter. Aang soon stopped laughing and smiled at the banished prince. Zuko, who had noticed the airbender stop laughing, suddenly stopped himself and looked sheepishly at the ground, trying to avoid the Avatar's gaze.

"It sure is good letting go of all your worries by laughing, isn't it?" Aang said, while looking at Zuko. The firebender looked up hesitantly, a small smirk on his face.

"Yeah, it is. I haven't laughed like this in ages," the prince admitted. It was true. He was always too busy sulking, or scowling at how the world seemed to hate him. It had felt good when he let go of his cool appearance and laughed, for once. Zuko felt as if a heavy burden was lifted off his back, and smiled at the young Avatar.

"Well then," he said, grinning, "Let's go get us some food."

It didn't take long for Zuko to spot his prey. They had been walking for quite a while, hacking away at plants to get a shorter way to the top of the mountain, when the firebender had stopped abruptly, seeing a sudden rustle of a bush. Aang, noticing the prince stop, stopped as well, and was quietly observing the scene. Zuko had one of his swords raised carefully so that it was directly over the bush, and in one swift movement, plunged his weapon down. The airbender almost thought the firebender had missed, until the teen pulled out his sword from the bush. At once, Aang gasped in shock. On the end of his sword, Zuko had caught a small bear of sorts, and it was dead, most likely killed at once by the firebender's sword. The peace loving Avatar almost gagged at the sight. Blood from the bear was still dripping of the tip of the firebender's blade. Zuko noticed Aang's negative reaction and frowned.

"What's wrong?" he said, taking the bear off the top of his sword, and cleaning the blood off with his shirt, "I just caught us breakfast."

"I'm a vegetarian," the answer was obvious. Airbenders were monks; of course they wouldn't eat meat, especially someone like Aang who hated violence and bloodshed.

"I guess I'll have to find you something else to eat," Zuko said almost instantly. The firebender scouted the area, looking for some sort of edible plant or berries. His Uncle had once told him something about edible plants before, why hadn't he paid more attention? He felt almost sick at the stomach as he thought about his uncle, the one he betrayed selfishly at Ba Sing Se just to regain his "honor."

"_I hope you're proud of me uncle. I joined the Avatar and I'll find you one day and beg for your forgiveness too." _Zuko thought silently. As he continued to scan the area, one plant stood out to him. He took a branch of it and gave it to the Avatar. Aang eyed it suspiciously, wondering if it could be eaten or possibly if it was poisonous.

"Don't worry, it's edible, I clearly remember my Uncle telling me about this plant," the scarred teen said. The airbender took the plant and cautiously took a bite of it, munching on the leaves. Soon, he had finished the plant, and was happily rubbing his stomach. Zuko had started a fire by rubbing sticks together at a quick pace, creating enough friction and sparks to light a fire. He couldn't remember the last time he had done this, he was a firebender! They never had to learn this type of thing; it was once again his uncle who had told him how to survive without his firebending. He took the dead bear corpse and hung it on a stick above the fire. When the firebender was sure that the animal was suitable for eating, he took greedy bites out of the meat.

"Gosh, you remind me of Sokka," Aang said with a chuckle.

"Do I?" Zuko said with a mouth full of meat.

"Yeah, this reminds me of the old days; we would camp out like this and hope that we wouldn't get attacked randomly or something." The airbender replied happily, staring off into the distance.

"_Attacked by me," _the firebender added in his mind. "Well, after we eat our late breakfast, we should leave this place soon so we can get to the top. "

"Sure, the quicker we get out of this place, the better. This place gives me the creeps. It's so silent, and it's almost like there's no one else out here," Aang said softly.

A loud roar filled the air, and Zuko's eyes widened. Loud crashes and bangs filled the air. Something was heading toward their temporary campsite and it was _big_.

"We need to get out of here, and fast!" he cried, rushing into the trees, opposite to the sound of the crashing trees. The airbender followed, his gray eyes filled with fear.

"_The chief did warn us about dangerous animals…" _

Aang felt as if they had been running forever. At least they were running in the general direction of the top of the mountain, he thought. Zuko had once again taken the lead and was trying to get a path to the mountain peak while at the same time trying to lose the big animal that was chasing them. Aang's curiosity took over him and he looked back at the animal, despite Zuko's warnings that looking back would waste precious time. The animal that was chasing them was a platypus bear, although it looked a bit different. It was a lot bigger, and its eyes were red with anger. The airbender couldn't think of a reason why the bear was attacking them, until he thought back to the bear Zuko had eaten. Unless this bear was the one that Zuko had ate's _mother?_ No wonder it was so furious!

"Zuko! Zuko! I know why the platypus bear's chasing us! It's cause you ate its kid!" he yelled to the running firebender.

"I figured as much. But what do you want me to do? Apologize to it and get killed? No way!" the prince said angrily, running faster by the second up the mountain.

"I got an idea!" Aang shouted, the gears in his head whirring.

"What?" Zuko yelled loudly.

"Just go in separate directions! I think it'll confuse him!" the airbender replied, taking off in a different direction to Zuko's. The platypus stopped for a second, confused on which person to follow. It was long enough for both boys to get farther from the rampaging animal, but not enough to lose it. The bear soon decided to chase Zuko, and Aang stopped.

"Hey you!" he bellowed to the platypus bear, waving his hands to try to get the animal's attention. The bear turned around and cocked its head angrily at Aang. The airbender grinned nervously. At least he was getting Zuko some time to get away. The firebender mouthed a silent word of thanks as he ran off into the distance. Aang turned his attention back to the bear once he was sure Zuko was safe.

"I know who killed your kid!" the airbender yelled loudly, stressing the words _your kid_. The platypus bear perked up at those words and glared suspiciously at the Avatar, who was waving his arms around and making hand motions.

"He's over _there_!" Aang pointed off to the bottom of the mountain, hoping the platypus would fall for the obvious distraction. It was just as he hoped. The bear's eyes followed the Avatar's hand and ran off in the direction of the finger. After a few minutes of silence, Aang let out a breath of relief. Now all he had to do was get back to Zuko, who was probably somewhere far away.

"Zuko, where are you?" he yelled to the top of the mountain, hoping that the firebender would hear. He continued to call until he heard the prince reply.

"I'm just up here!" He heard Zuko yell not too far away. From the way the words were shouted at him, Aang could estimate that the teen wasn't too far away, but above him. The airbender ran to where the sound of the firebender's voice came from and ended up finding the firebender in a few minutes.

"Did you get the animal to stop chasing us?" Zuko asked quizzically, curious about what had happened.

"Yeah, I fooled it into thinking that you were at the bottom of the mountain," Aang answered with a sly grin on his face. "You shouldn't go around eating platypus bear babies anymore." He added playfully.

"Well, thanks for that," the prince said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"No problem! You are my friend, after all!" Aang said happily. "Friends help each other when they are in trouble, right Zuko?"

"Yeah…" was the answer the airbender got.

"_Friends, huh?"_ the firebender thought. "_I never thought I'd become friends with the Avatar."_

After another short hour of traveling, Zuko finally stopped walking. Aang rushed ahead, even though the firebender had stopped, and almost fell off a cliff; without Zuko grabbing the end of his shirt, he might have.

"Woah, where are we?" the airbender asked, in awe. They were on some sort of big platform, and there was an altar in the middle of the platform they were standing on. On either side of the platform were steep cliffs that would surely end a person's life if they were to fall off.

"We're finally here. The top of the mountain," Zuko answered.

**A/N: Hope you enjoy this chapter! It's the second longest (I think?) so far in this fanfic! I managed to scrape this together in the last two days, and I hope you guys review and read! :D Hopefully, I'll update soon. For now, R&R! **

**Reviews are what brought me to write this story again! :3**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Here's the next chapter! I don't have much to say except that I'm only motivated to write by reviews! So, I'd love it if you guys could review a bit more **

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**Captured Trust Chapter 13: **The End of the Trial

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"Woah, this is really the top? Are we finally done with the trial?" Aang asked, his grey eyes sparkling in the sun.

"Yeah, it seems like it, we're at the highest part of the mountain," Zuko answered. The Sun Warriors could almost be seen from the top of the mountain, but they were only visible as tiny unrecognizable specks.

"We really came a long way to get up here," Aang replied, "But now that we're done, it's pretty cool how we got this far in around a day or more in traveling."

"Hm, yeah-" the firebender said thoughtfully, but his amber eyes widened suddenly.

"What is it, Zuko?" the Avatar stated worrily.

"We've finished the trial, and got to the top of the mountain, but now what?" the fire prince stated, his black hair flying in the wind. The Chief had told them that the trial would end once they reached the top of the mountain, but never had explained what would happen at the top of the mountain, or how to actually finish the trial and gain the Sun Warrior's trust. The only plausible idea the firebender had was to go all the way back down the way they came, but that was quickly ruled out. Why would the Warriors want them just to go to the top of the mountain and back to prove their innocence?

Aang stood for a moment, thinking, then opened his mouth to say something, but immediately closed it.

"You thought of something?" Zuko questioned impatiently, his foot tapping on the floor.

"Well, kinda, but- Look behind you!" the airbender shouted before he could finish his previous sentence. Zuko turned; frustrated that he couldn't hear the rest of the Avatar's idea on how to complete the trial, but soon stood shocked at the sight that lay before him. The white fire from the start of the trial was slowly burning up the mountain. The firebender figured that at the rate it was burning, the fire would reach them in a couple of minutes, possibly less. They were doomed, with no way to get out. The white fire was, according to the Chief, inextinguishable, and would kill anybody quickly. Was this the end of the line? Would he die here and now, never to regain his honor and get forgiveness from his Uncle? Zuko tried to see Aang's expression. The young Avatar was clearly afraid, his eyes wide and his body trembling. If Aang died, no one would be able to stop his Father, and then what? The world would be ruled by the Fire Nation, and all would suffer under its rule. All he could do now was wait and see what fate awaited them.

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Katara had seen the two boys progress up the mountain, although they had disappeared from sight at times. She had barely slept the night before, worried about their safety, and also plagued by dreams of Ba Sing Se. When she woke up, the sun was barely up, but she had spotted the two benders climbing up the mountain once again. They were extremely close to the top, and would probably reach the top soon. The waterbender had then turned her attention away from the boys, but rather reluctantly, as the Sun Warrior Chief called her over.

"What is it?" she had said rather rudely, although it was accidently. Katara quickly changed her tone to something more respectable. "I mean, what do you want to talk to me about, honorable Sun Warrior Chief?"

"It's about your two friends," he had told her in a booming voice.

"_Zuko is not my friend_!" she spat, blue eyes narrowing.

"Well, I assumed that since you three were traveling together, you must have been close," the Chief said, raising an eyebrow.

"He's hurt me in more ways than I can forgive him for," was her quiet reply. The Sun Warrior Chief decided to change the subject then.

"I hope you know that they will not return from this trial. No one ever has," he added, a little sympathy in the tone of his voice.

"What?" Katara almost shouted, "What do you mean? They're almost at the top of the mountain!"

"Yes, I am aware of that, and I acknowledge them for getting so far, but many have reached that point," the man said.

"I don't get it," the waterbender said slowly, "They're so close, what can stop them now?"

The Chief pointed to the top of the mountain and Katara's gaze followed, "But the real test is there. Many have gotten to the top, but none have passed the final test there."

"W-What are we gonna do now?" Aang stammered finally, his soft voice breaking the silence.

"I don't know," Zuko stated with a scowl on his scarred face showed that the firebender was clearly thinking hard, but with no results.

"Then…what do we do?" the airbender said, worry etched into his young face.

And with that last statement, Zuko snapped.

"_**Why does EVERYONE**__**ask me things that I don't know the answer to yet?**__" _the prince said, throwing his hands down in exasperation with a force that would have gave anyone a trip to the healers. Suddenly, to Zuko's surprise, a small flame puffed out when he threw down his hands.

"What?" he said to himself. The prince gave another thrust out to the air with his hands, and another tiny flame appeared. Zuko looked down to the platform they were standing on. Was this place made so that they could bend again, unlike the rest of the mountain?

"You can firebend again now? Does that mean that I can firebend too?" Aang said almost too enthusiastically for their current situation. The Avatar put his body into a firebending stance, and pushed his hand out, but no fire came out.

"It seems that we can bend again, but just normally, I still haven't learned how to firebend correctly again," the prince said, sending out another small flame burst.

"This means that we can get outta here, right? I'll just use my airbending-," the airbender said, before frowning. "The flames are too high; I can't get out of here with my airbending."

"Hey…didn't you have some sort of plan when we first spotted the flames?" Zuko asked hopefully, thinking back to before the flames had starting burning up the mountin.

"Yeah, but…I don't think it'll work…" Aang said, looking down at the ground.

"It's our only chance!" the prince yelled. The white flames were closing in on them, the flames already reaching the platform.

"Okay, Okay!" The Avatar said loudly. "Maybe we could do what the Sun Warriors were doing with the white flames; you know that whole dropping the blood into the fire thing? You should try making a white flame and put it on that altar over there! I'll use my airbending to strengthen your flame!"

_"It is a special form of firebending passed down by the Sun Warriors. It is in our blood." _Zuko remembered what the Chief had told them. There was no way the airbender's idea could work; he wasn't a Sun Warrior, but it was their only chance.

The two benders walked up to the altar that was conveniently in the middle of the platform. It was the farthest point away from the flames that were slowly advancing on them. They had at most a minute left. Although the altar gave Zuko chills, he still proceeded in making a flame, big enough to stay burning, but not nearly as large as his original bending got him. Aang used small bursts of wind to keep the flame alive as Zuko proceeded to offer his blood to the flames, trying to do exactly as the Sun Warriors had done in their ritual. He brought the sharpest point of his sword across his index finger, and let one ruby drop of blood fall into the fire. He held his breath, and waited, but nothing happened.

They had failed. The white fire ritual didn't work, and they only had about a minute to survive. He would die.

Suddenly, Zuko noticed the fire changing color; it was turning from a dark orange to a pale yellow color. It wasn't white yet, but the pale yellow soon faded into a very light white color.

"_What?" _Zuko thought, his attention turning to the flame. Aang also looked quickly over to the white flame.

"_What is happening?"_ Zuko thought, his eyes never leaving the small white flames.

Katara watched in horror as the white flames seemed to cover the platform that Zuko and Aang were on. The flames slowly made their way to the two benders, and the waterbender stared openmouthed, shocked at the fact that two of her companions were about to die.

"_No! Aang can't die like this, even Zuko…it's too soon for either of them to die!" _Katara screamed to herself.

"This is how it always ends, the white flames kill off even the best benders who take this trial," The Sun Warrior Chief said. In his hands, he still held the golden egg that they had "stolen."

Katara stared angrily at the egg, her eyes tearing up. Why did they have to come to the Sun Warriors? If Zuko hadn't brought them up, they wouldn't have found the egg, and Aang would die now! The egg, why did Zuko have to pick it up? Why did he have to join their gang?

"_Why?"_ she asked herself again and again, tears blurring her vision.

Katara almost didn't hear the Sun Warrior gasp. Looking up again, she forcefully rubbed her eyes to rid of the tears that were still falling. The Sun Warrior was holding the egg still, and was in the same position as she had seen him in before, but his eyes were wide. She finally noticed what was wrong. The egg was pulsing and glowing a light yellow color. The light radiating off it soon became too bright, and Katara had to close her eyes. When she opened them again, the light was gone, and the egg was broken clean in two, one half of it still in the Chief's hands, and another half on the ground. The Sun Warrior Chief was still in shock, his body trembling, and he dropped the half of the eggshell on the ground, where it shattered at the impact.

"What happened?" Katara demanded angrily.

"T-the egg…" the man said, still shaking.

"What about it?" she said again, more loudly.

"It's….It hatched." He answered.

A/N: **Yeah, shorter chapter, but I thought this would be a good part to stop. Leaving you guys with another cliffhanger? Evil! XD Well, I'll update soon! Remember to review! :D **


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Yeah…this was a slower update, but I'll probably post once per week from on, but have longer chapters, kay? I had a small writer's block anyways… On another side note, I really don't like asking for reviews, but I **_**really **_**need them to get motivated to write. **

**Chapter 14: The Hatched Dragon**

"What?" Katara cried out, her azure eyes flaring at the Sun Warrior Chief, who was still shaking in shock.

"It's just as I told you," he replied slowly, "The Golden Dragon Egg has finally hatched."

"I thought you said it hadn't hatched in thousands of years, why did it hatch now then?" the waterbender demanded.

"I don't know," was the reply the watertribe girl got, "But I think it is because of your little friends over there…one is the Avatar after all. It's too bad that they're not going to live."

Katara suddenly remembered the white flames that had been closing in on Zuko and Aang. How could she divert her attention away from them? What if they had actually died?

Zuko could see the white flames reach the ground where he was standing on, and the hot flames were licking at his feet, the intensity of the flames causing him to sweat. The white flame that he had produced flared suddenly, and the prince heard a loud crack from the base of the mountain. He craned his neck over the flames, and stared at the golden blur that quickly rushed toward them.

As the blur got closer and closer, Zuko could tell that it was some sort of large reptile, and was the color of pure gold.

"_Could it be…a dragon?"_ the firebender asked himself, remembering the mystical creatures he had seen before in the Fire Nation palaces. They were extinct though, the golden creature couldn't be a dragon, his own _uncle_ was the one who had killed the last dragon.

As much as Zuko tried to convince himself that the creature in front of him couldn't possibly be a dragon, he couldn't help but notice how perfect it was, the way its golden scales shone under the rays of the sun.

The creature soon had reached the platform Zuko and Aang were standing on, and when it landed on the ground, the white flames quickly extinguished, leaving no trace that they ever were there to begin with. The only flame left was Zuko's, and it had grown in size since the last time Zuko had seen it. The "dragon" seemed to look directly at Zuko and then Aang, who was also clearly shocked at the appearance of the creature. After what had seemed like hours, the mystical animal seemed to give an approving nod, and glided gracefully in front of the two benders.

"What now?" Aang whispered urgently to the firebender.

"….I don't know, just try not to make any sudden movements that might scare it. You never know, it might attack us." Zuko said quietly.

Aang moved forward, much to the scarred prince's surprise, and the monk lifted up his hand and bowed formally.

"Hello, great mystical creature, I am the Avatar and this here is my friend, Zuko!" the airbender said loudly, emphasizing each syllable.

Zuko gulped, and he silently waited for any sign of movement from the creature. After a few seconds of silence, the firebender wondered if the dragon even could understand the human language.

"_Greetings, Avatar Aang, Zuko, son of Ozai."_

The banished prince swore he heard a voice inside his head, but didn't believe it until he saw the creature staring at him. Aang also stared open-mouthed at it, face filled with wonder and confusion. The "dragon" seemed to notice their confusion and spoke again.

"_I can communicate telepathically with you, do not be afraid, young Avatar and Firelord's son." _

Zuko continued to stare, confused, how did the creature before him know that he was the Firelord's son? He had never spoken about his background or his family in front of the "dragon!"

"_I can tell that you are confused, firebender; I can read minds."_

Upon hearing the creature's statement, Zuko suddenly felt more self-conscious. Did the dragon know what he had done in his lifetime, did he know about all his failures and wrongs?

"Sorry for being rude, but what kind of creature are you? Aang asked rather loudly. The dragon turned his attention away from Zuko, and the firebender relaxed slightly.

"_I am a dragon."_

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Katara paled when she saw the golden creature approach Zuko and Aang.

"What is that?" the waterbender asked the Chief.

"I can't believe it…." The man said, while he paced around.

"_What?"_

"It's a dragon." He said.

"I thought they were dead!" Katara couldn't believe the Chief's words. Didn't Zuko once say that all the dragons were extinct?

"That's what I had thought too," the Sun Warrior Chief said, "They died off a long time ago, I've never seen one in my lifetime."

"Then…."

"It doesn't really matter now. Dragons have always been known as very dangerous creatures. They are the original fire benders and very powerful. They have a big appetite too; I remember hearing stories of when the ancient Sun Warriors used to make human offerings to the dragons just to please them."

Katara paled slightly.

"D-Does that mean that…" she muttered, her small hands shaking.

"The dragon that just hatched must be hungry after all those years. Your friends are probably going to end up as dragon food."

"No! That's not going to happen! Zuko and Aang are stronger than that!" the waterbender stated loudly, her eyes never leaving the top of the mountain where she could faintly see the boys and the golden dragon. Her hands were clenched at her sides, and she was trembling.

"I'm sorry, but your friends…." The Sun Warrior said, his head dropping.

Katara's azure eyes widened in shock and she let out a scream as she saw the dazzling golden dragon lean back and consume Zuko and Aang in a tornado of golden flames.

_A few minutes before…._

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"_What? A dragon?" _Zuko thought. "_So there was one last dragon left after all, but hadn't they been extinct for a long time?"_

"_You are correct." _The firebender once again heard the dragon's voice in his head. He had forgotten that the dragon could read his mind, and it was annoying how it could hear everything he thought about.

"_Then why..?" _he asked in his head.

"_We dragons had gone extinct a while back; the Fire Nation had wiped out our species. I was the last dragon egg to be in creation at the time; dragons do not mate often. It was a just a stroke of luck that after the last dragon had been killed, that I had been found by Sun Warriors and placed in good care for the last hundreds of years." _

"_So that's why…" _Zuko thought. There was just one more thing that was bothering him.

"Did my Uncle actually kill off the last dragon?" he asked out loud. Aang stared at him, surprised by the sudden outburst.

"_General_ _Iroh…no he did not. In fact, he was part of the reason why I 'm still here. He had found my egg and had placed it in the Sun Warrior hands, but had sworn to never tell anyone of the last dragon." _

Zuko let out a breath of relief. So his Uncle hadn't killed the last dragon, but had protected them. It seemed a lot more realistic of his Uncle.

"Ummm….." the firebender heard someone mutter. Aang shrank a little bit when the two firebenders turned their eyes toward him, but soon spoke in a loud voice.

"We came to learn firebending. Could you possibly teach us?" the Avatar said.

The dragon thought for a moment, then glided gracefully over their heads.

"_Yes. I haven't taught anyone before, but you two seem to be worthy of learning. I will teach you." _

Both benders looked nervously at the dragon, wondering how it would possibly teach them, and both were equally surprised when the mystical creature drew back, and waves of golden flames engulfed them completely.

Zuko squeezed his eyes shut when he felt the flames cover him and braced himself for the searing pain, but when nothing came, he slowly opened his golden eyes. Instead of the flames incinerating them both, the firebender saw that the golden flames were swirling around them, no; they seemed to be dancing around them. When the prince tried to focus on a certain point in the flames, he would see brief flashes of someone firebending; it would be a small child, or an old man, or even a Sun Warrior. Aang seemed to be equally amazed, his grey eyes flashing with the flames reflecting off his eyes.

The more Zuko watched, the more he realized new things about firebending that he had never known about before. He saw a woman using firebending to cook food for a family, he saw a group of weary travelers huddling over a large fire, gracious for the flames providing warmth, and he even saw an injured man using small flames to stop his injuries from bleeding. After what had felt like hours, Zuko finally understood what all the images meant. They had all shown firebending being more than just a violent and angry element. Fire could be used to help and heal, not only to hurt. When he had been chasing the Avatar, all he had thought about when firebending was rage, and anger. After he had joined them though, he started to lose the anger and didn't want to hurt people anymore, and therefore had lost his temporary source of firebending.

Now, Zuko finally realized that all he had to do to get back his firebending was to believe in himself and his firebending. He hadn't been able to firebend before because he only knew it as something that would hurt, but he now knew better. The flames had already started to die down, and Zuko took in a large breath of fresh air, and took a customary firebending stance. He pushed out his fist and to his amazement, a large flame was produced, and it shot a several feet before extinguishing. Turning around, he watched as Aang produced a flame, which only went a few feet before it blew out.

The firebender felt as if he had changed inside, and he felt a small smile reach his face. The small airbender smiled widely at him.

"We finally firebended."

When the flames had weakened and gone out, Katara had been too busy crying and leaning on the Sun Warrior Chief's shoulder for support as she wept. When the Chief nudged her face gently, she raised her tearstained face and looked at the Sun Warrior.

"W-What is it?" she demanded painfully. The Sun Warrior pointed in the direction of the mountain, and Katara bitterly turned, and saw a bright golden blur race toward her. She could almost make out two people on the dragon, but only when the dragon had finally stopped had she found out that the two people were indeed Aang and Zuko.

The waterbender quickly pushed herself away from the Sun Warrior and half ran, half walked over to where the dragon had landed. The two benders had already unloaded the dragon, and were walking towards her. She ran and launched herself at the both of them.

Zuko was surprised when he saw the waterbender girl run at him and Aang, and especially when she had launched herself at them. The three of them had fell on the floor from the collision, and the firebender felt a small blush color his face. Didn't she hate him? Turning his head slightly, Zuko could see that Aang was blushing a dark red color.

Katara soon noticed how awkward the situation was, and pulled herself from the boys, but not before she could give the airbender a quick hug. Her face was slightly flushed, she had just hugged _Zuko, _but she was too relieved to care too much about it.

"Katara…." Aang said, his face still red.

"_Stupid!_" the waterbender cried.

"What?" both boys said at the same time.

"You guys just running off like that! I thought you both were…." Katara shouted, her blue eyes still moist with tears.

"Have you been crying?" Zuko asked quickly, trying to sound like he didn't really care too much.

"Huh? Uh….um…No! Of course not!" she said loudly, while rubbing the tears out of her eyes with her small fists.

"Why do _you _care anyways?" she replied, her usual hate for the prince returning again.

"Uh…" the firebender stammered, rubbing the back of his head.

"Anyways Katara, w-we kinda learned how to firebend." Aang interrupted.

"Really?" the waterbender shifted her gaze away from Zuko, and looked at the Avatar in amazement.

"See?" Aang produced a small flame from his fists, and it was extinguished as he put his hands down.

"Good for you, Aang!" Katara said happily. The airbender blushed again at her compliment. As Zuko watched the two talk, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. He quickly dismissed the feeling, they just confused him.

After a while of catching up on each other's stories, it was almost time for the three benders to leave the Sun Warrior camp.

They all bowed respectably to the golden dragon, who had waited patiently for them to finish.

"Thank you for teaching us." Aang and Zuko bowed. The dragon nodded, and looked at the Sun Warriors, and then at Katara.

"_No, thank you. Now I have done my part in restoring balance to this world. Remember to stay strong."_ The dragon said, before taking off into the sky. Zuko watched as the dragon became a tiny golden blur, and turned to the Sun Warrior Chief. The white flame that he had produced still burned at the top of the mountain, at the altar, and he still had doubts as to what had caused the flame to turn white. The Chief saw the firebender's gaze, and answered the prince's question.

"It seems you have been able to create the Sun Warrior's ancient white flame."

"Yeah…but how do you think I did it?" Zuko questioned.

"Only those with the Sun Warrior blood in them can bend this type of flame, so you must have our blood in your body."

"How? My whole family is from the Royal Family!" the firebender yelled.

"What about your mother?" the man bellowed.

"My mother…" Zuko's voice softened and he was lost in his thoughts. His mother's past was pretty mysterious to him. He only knew that his mother had come from a rich family, and that his father had fallen in love with her along the road. Was it possible that she had come from a family of Sun Warriors?

"Your mother's ancestors were probably Sun Warriors just like us." The Chief stated.

"She never told me!" the firebender said.

"You didn't need to know." He answered.

"Does that mean that I can bend white flames?" Zuko asked his eyes wide at the possibilities. _This flame is even more powerful than lightning. _If what the Sun Warrior Chief said about the white flames was true, then he would have a chance at beating Azula using the flames.

"Possibly, but this form of firebending is very rare among firebenders, usually only a select few have the ability to bend it." The Sun Warrior said, thinking hard.

"But will my sister be able to use the flames too?" the prince asked. If Azula would be able to use the flames too, then he would be at a huge disadvantage.

"No, only one child usually inherits the power to use these flames. Also, it is very difficult to use the flames, and even more difficult to control it. Even I cannot fully master the white flames."

"Then, can you teach me what you do know?" Zuko said.

"I would be happy to, but you have a duty to fulfill with the Avatar. If you do visit any other time, I will be happy to teach you though."

Aang had found Appa resting in the shade under a large tree, and he had happily jumped into the large animal's fur. Appa had let out a happy growl, and shook his fur out.

Soon, they had all got on the air bison, and they took off into the dark shades of the sunset, the Sun Warriors watching them leave.

"_Finally….the trial is over." _

_**A/N: **_**I finally finished the Firebending Masters(Trial of Fire) arc! Did you know? It was actually intended for the trial to only last a sentence (as in not going in detail), and Katara wasn't going to go with them, but my fic seems to write itself, you know? :P **

**Anyways, I'd love it if you guys R&R! I'll update once I get enough reviews and support Thanks for reading! :D **


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